


A Mother's Love

by MiladyDragon



Series: Dragon-Verse: Future Adventures [10]
Category: Forever (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Merlin (TV), Torchwood
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragons, Angst, Dragon-Verse, Family, Happy Ending, Jack's Mother - Freeform, Multi, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-10
Updated: 2017-03-21
Packaged: 2018-10-02 05:31:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 22,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10210628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiladyDragon/pseuds/MiladyDragon
Summary: Doctor Samara Wells really hadn't been prepared for the two people who dropped into her life, ostensibly to hire her boat out for a trip to the Boeshane reefs...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is the first story in what I'm calling the "Samara Wells Trilogy", the story of Jack's mother coming back into her son's life and how she settles in. In this one, Samara meets a pair of people she didn't even know existed, and is swept into a family she never knew she had. 
> 
> This takes place between the stories "Time Trap" and "Lost and Found".

 

**_1 April 5115 (Earth Standard Date)_ **

**_Chrysalis Bay, Boeshane Peninsula, Planet Maker’s World_ **

****

“Doctor Wells?”

Doctor Samara Wells looked up at the male voice calling her name from where she was stowing her gear, smiling as the pair came down the pier toward her boat, the _Day_ _Dream_.  “Yes, that’s me!” she called out, straightening up and watching as they approached. She brushed some of her short brownish-blonde hair out of her face, blown there by the stiffening breeze from the bay; it was going to be a beautiful day for the Peninsula.

They were both young; the man was maybe in his mid-to-late twenties, while the woman was perhaps five standard years younger.  There was something about them that told her they were related in a way…it was in the blue eyes, and the bone structure.  If Samara had to guess she would have said they were brother and sister.

Both were dressed almost like natives, with the general dun-coloured trousers and blouses, goggles slung around their necks in case of wind or rain storm; the man also had a colourful scarf wrapped about his throat, the material in shades of blues and greens.  Their shoes were flat-heeled and sensible.  Thank Goddess for that; the last thing Samara wanted to do was have to drag one of their sorry arses out of the water because they weren’t wearing the proper boating shoes.  The waves could get rough once past the breakwater.

The woman was armed; a blaster was slung low on her right hip in what Samara knew was the “classic” gunfighter’s position.  Her hair was tied back, the braid whipping in the wind sharply.  It was about a shade lighter than the man’s, which was short and slightly curly.  He didn’t appear to be armed, which surprised Samara since the frontier worlds were known to be hazardous to those not prepared for it.  Her own weapon, an ancient plasma rifle that Franklin had brought with him when he’d immigrated from galaxy centre, was resting on its hooks in the boat’s main cabin, and she knew how to use it.

The man easily carried in one hand a large case that looked fairly heavy, and she wondered if he wasn’t from some sort of high-gravity world to be able to carry the weight.  His companion also had a pack, but it didn’t look quite as bulky, and she handed it off to him as they came up to the boat, the two of them balancing easily as they made their way across the magnetic field of the boarding ramp. 

“Thank you for agreeing to take us out to the reefs,” the man said, tossing his and then his possible sister’s packs onto the deck with a great deal of ease, jumping onto the boat in a single, fluid motion.  The woman followed him.  “I’m Ifan Jones,” he introduced himself.  He spoke Standard fluently, but there was an accent to it she couldn’t identify. 

He held out of his hand, and Samara took it, not showing her surprise at his slightly above human normal body temperature.  “Welcome on board,” she greeted him. 

“This is my daughter, Anwyn,” Jones went on, making a gesture at his companion. 

Samara knew she didn’t quite hide her confusion at that announcement.  They looked far too close in age to be father and daughter; however, there were several extremely long-lived races out there.  Jones and his daughter could have been members of any one of them.

“Tad’s a lot older than he looks,” Anwyn joked, also extending her hand.  It was equally warm.  “We get the funny looks more than you know.” Her accent seemed closer to Boeshane, and it surprised Samara somewhat. But the word, ‘tad’, which had to have been some form of ‘father’, was a term that she’d never heard before.  Yes, Samara could admit that she wasn’t as well-travelled as some, but she’d still heard her share of phrases and accents in the time she’d been on Maker’s World…from the scientists who still came out to study the planet, and from the people who’d come out to the frontier to find a new beginning. 

There was a lot of hiding going on out of the fringes, Samara was well aware.  In many ways, she herself was hiding from her own horrible past.

“You didn’t have to add the word ‘lot’ to that sentence, you know,” Jones said good-naturedly.

Anwyn shrugged, looking innocent.  “You and Dad always stressed to me that it was never a good idea to lie.”

“And you choose to listen now.” He chuckled then turned back to Samara.  “Once again, Dr Wells, you have our thanks for doing this.  I know you didn’t have to.”

Samara smiled.  “That’s fine,” she assured him.  She didn’t add that the money they were paying would allow her to sit out the winter in her cosy flat in town and not worry about running out of supplies. “If you’ll stow your things, you can tell me what you’re looking to see and I can get us there.”

“I’ll do that, Tad,” Anwyn volunteered.  “You go and speak to the doctor and let her know what you need.”

“Alright,” Jones answered, giving his daughter a small, sweet smile.

Samara was touched by it, but at the same time was forcibly reminded of her own family, long lost to her.  “Your cabin is down and to the right,” she directed past the sudden lump in her throat.  “It’s going to get cold once we pass the breakwater, so if you have coats you might want to bring them out.”

“Thank you for the concern,” Jones said, “but both Anwyn and I are quite resistant to temperature changes.”

“Be back up in a bit.”  With those parting words, Anwyn was ducking down the steep steps and into the bowels of the _Day Dream,_ taking their bags with her.

“Come on up to the control deck,” Samara invited, waving her hand to the stairs.  Jones nodded and began to climb, Samara right behind him.  She couldn’t help but notice just how well the man wore his trousers…

Down, Samara.  He was committed to someone, if that was what Anwyn had meant by using the word ‘Dad’.  There might have been many different types of commitment in many different societies, and those bonds were sacred and never meddled with unless the committed liked that sort of thing.

There was no way she was going to mess with any sort of bond.  She missed her own too much for that.

She led Jones up to the bridge, where she immediately got started with her checks. “So,” she said, “just what brings you both out to the Peninsula?”  With a flick of her finger, Samara brought up the undersea charts of the area so she could plot her course, glittering blue in the overhead holographic display.

“I’m looking for reef stones,” Jones answered. 

This was another surprise.  Reef stones were extremely rare, and weren’t often mentioned beyond the scientific papers that had been written up on the phenomena.  Samara herself had composed such a monograph; reef stones were fascinating to study, especially by a marine biochemist of her calibre. 

Reef stones were a bit like Earth pearls; they were formed when sand from the Boeshane shoreline was blown out to sea, settling over the reefs that were just off the coast.  The majority of the sand was sucked further out into the ocean, but some few grains remained, and like an oyster forming a pearl the sand would irritate certain reef organisms, forming crystals around the grains which would eventually become reef stones.  The major differences from pearls were that the stones formed outside of the creatures they were irritating, and that they came in a variety of colours depending on the source of the secretions that were crystallising around the irritants.  Some of the even rarer ones were phosphorescent.

“If I might ask,” Samara said, “but how did you hear about the reef stones?  Not many people have beyond the Peninsula.”

Jones smiled.  “My mate is from Boeshane.  He told me about them, and for next anniversary I thought I might bring him something back that would remind him of his home.”

Samara caught the term “mate”, which narrowed down the list of races that Jones and his daughter belonged to.  It would have been simple to input the few clues she’d been given into her portable database, but it wasn’t very polite to go behind a person’s back to snoop about their racial identity. 

However, she _was_ curious – which was a good thing for a scientist to have – and so she asked.

Jones’ smile got bigger.  “I’m certain you’ve heard of the Star Dragons?”

Samara nodded, but she was bit too stunned to speak.  Of course she’d heard of the Star Dragons.  Despite there not being very many of them, they were renowned throughout the Empire as willing to go anywhere and do anything to help out people who needed their expertise.  She’d enjoyed Morgan Jones’ music – and there was another Jones, and she had to guess that she was also a daughter of the man…or dragon…standing in her wheelhouse.  It was also rumoured that magic had been returned to the Universe due to Star Dragon influence.  So many wonderful and amazing things had been attributed to the Star Dragons it was impossible to determine what was true, and what was sheer speculation or fantasy.

Still, Samara knew, deep in her soul, that she was standing next to what could be construed as a legend.

“I and my mate are the Patriarchs of the Star Dragons,” Jones went on.  There was a quiet pride in him that made Samara want to cry. 

She didn’t know what to say, and was saved from making a complete fool of herself by a shout from below.  “Tad!”

He glanced away, calling out, “Yes, Anwyn?”

“Phillip’s on the comms for you.  He says Dad’s getting antsy about you not calling him!”

The being in front of Samara rolled his eyes.  “I’ll be there in a moment.”  He shook his head, smiling fondly.  “I need to take this,” he said apologetically.  “Jack’s probably getting overwhelmed by the hellions.”  He touched her shoulder.  “I trust you know these waters and can get us where we need to go.”

With that, he descended down the stairs toward the lower deck, leaving Samara alone with her thoughts.  When she’d taken on this contract, she’d done a small background check of her new clients, and it hadn’t brought up the fact that either of them were Star Dragons.  It had shown that Ifan Jones was a Professor Emeritus of Medieval Earth History, living on Earth, and that Anwyn Harkness-Jones was Captain-Owner of a private trading vessel, called the _Serpent’s_ _Tooth_ …and shouldn’t that have given her some sort of clue?   It hadn’t pulled up anything about family or race, or how they were related to each other, and now Samara had to wonder if she hadn’t looked for her information in the wrong place.  There hadn’t been much on Jones at all…was it an alias?  She just wasn’t sure.

She should have done a deeper check, to avoid the shock that Samara was currently feeling.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

**_1 April 5115 (Earth Standard Date)_ **

**_Boeshane Peninsula, Planet Maker’s World_ **

 

“Doctor Wells.”

Samara turned to see Anwyn standing just inside the room, a small, pleasant smile on her face.  “Sorry if Tad’s comment shocked you,” she said, taking a step closer.  “He doesn’t usually have such a sense of melodrama.” She chuckled.  “We normally leave that to Dad.”

She couldn’t help but return the laugh.  “I’m not sure I can imagine that level of melodrama!” 

She couldn’t help but look at the woman with her, examining her for any outward sign of her race.  But no, Anwyn Harkness-Jones resembled a normal human being of about twenty standard years of age, her hair escaping its braid, seemingly capable in a way that made Samara feel strangely safe and endangered at the same time.

Anwyn grinned.  “You haven’t met Dad.  I sometimes think he and Tad were meant to balance out each other.”

“Are you really…?”  She couldn’t say it; she wasn’t sure why.  A bit of being star-struck, maybe?  It wasn’t every day a person met someone that was practically a legend.

Anwyn nodded.  “I’m the one who sort of came up with the name, actually.”  She looked vaguely proud and embarrassed in equal measure.  “Tad and Dad are our parents.”

Samara frowned.  “But I thought your father came from Boeshane?”

“He did.  He was born and raised here.  But something…happened.  I don’t want to go into too much detail, but he’s as long-lived now as the rest of us are.”  Anwyn leaned closer, her voice lowering.  “You might have heard of the original immortal director of the Torchwood Institute?”

Alright, that was almost as big a surprise as Star Dragons.

Samara’s mouth fell open.  “You…are you…?” She couldn’t get anything coherent out.  First Star Dragons, and now Torchwood?  What had she done to deserve this mess?

“That’s my Dad,” Anwyn went on as if Samara hadn’t said anything.  “And my Tad is also called the Torchwood Dragon.  They’re…kinda famous, in certain circles.”

‘Kinda’ famous?  Was that how Anwyn was putting it? 

“I think we’ve overwhelmed our guide,” Jones’ voice said, and there he was, standing beside Anwyn with a serious expression on his face.  “Perhaps we could head out, and more conversation later?  Let’s give Dr Wells a chance to un-bury herself from the pile of information we just dumped on her?”  He turned to regard Samara.  “I do apologise for all of that, but you _did_ ask…”

“I did, yes,” she admitted.  She had, and she’d been told. 

“Come on, Anwyn,” Jones took his daughter by the arm, “I have something to talk to you about.”

She let her father draw her away and back down the steps.  “Is this about Phillip’s call…?”

“Yes,” he said, ushering her away.  “Your Dad is becoming a mite bit suspicious…”

Their voices faded out as they took the stairs, leaving Samara alone with her thoughts.  Her hands moving by rote, she prepared to sail out even has she was completely distracted by what she’s been told, disengaging the landing ramp and taking in the tether. 

She let out a deep breath, a grin sliding over her face as it hit her.  She was in the presence of beings far greater than she’d ever imagined.  A part of her was glad she hadn’t discovered all of this in the negligent background check she’d done.  She had no idea what she’d done if she’d known in advance; probably refused the charter out of being star-struck or something equally silly.  Samara felt a thrill pass through her, and she had to forcibly bring her attention back to her tasks.

Samara toggled on the radio.  “This is the _Day_ _Dream_ , designation SWF391, departing pier 16.”

_“SWF391, this is port authority.  You are cleared for departure. Safe journey.”_

“Thank you, Port Authority.”  She flipped the radio off, consulting her charts once more before goosing the engines and steering her boat out past the end of the pier and into the bay. 

Despite everything that had happened Samara loved Boeshane.  It had been her home for over four decades, ever since she had listened to the siren call to the frontier, for adventure and discovery and the need to explore more than what had been on her own homeworld.  It had been a hard life, but this was where she’d met her beloved Franklin, and they’d begun their own family. 

Now, that family was gone.  She was alone, but in spite of that she still held a fierce affection for the Boeshane Peninsula.  It was where she’d found her greatest happiness…and her most terrible sorrow. 

Samara sighed, as she pushed the thoughts of her long lost family from her thoughts.  It had been so long ago, but the pain of it was still as sharp as a knife in her chest.  She had learned to live with it, and seeing how happy Jones and his daughter were had brought it all back.  Still, it wasn’t all bad…she had such fond memories of her family during the times they’d been together, and Samara couldn’t help the small smile that the antics of her children had caused, and how it had felt to have Franklin hold her and how they had made love in their bedroom, in their cubicle in the colony block that had been built near the sea.  

It was all gone now.  Her family…their home…all gone.

Samara missed it horribly.

She expertly piloted her boat out into the bay and past the breakwater and into open sea.  It really was going to a beautiful day; the sunlight glittered on the water, mid-sized waves rocking the _Day_ _Dream_ as Samara drove her farther and farther out and toward the reefs where she knew there would be reef stones.  It was the same section of reef that she herself had explored; she’d gotten a reef stone there for Franklin once, one that had softly glowed green when he’d held it, the phosphorescence triggered by his body heat.

She couldn’t help but remember his pleased smile.

Once past the breakwater, Samara set the autopilot and made her way down the stairs, in search of her passengers.  It would be about a planetary hour before arriving at the coordinates she’d chosen, and her curiosity was itching to ask more questions of her clients. 

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

 

**_1 April 5115 (Earth Standard Date)_ **

**_Boeshane Peninsula, Planet Maker’s World_ **

 

Samara found them in the small main cabin.  Anwyn was seated at the table, holding onto it with both hands and looking just a little bit green.  Jones was standing at the tiny counter, working Samara’s coffee machine as if he’d been born to it.  “I’ve got us on a course that should take us to one of the best sections of the reef,” she reported as she took the seat opposite Anwyn.  She took a second look at Anwyn.  “I do have something you could take to keep the nausea under control,” she offered.

“Oh thank Goddess,” Anwyn moaned.  “I had no idea it would be this rough.”

Jones laughed at his very seasick daughter.  “I did try to warn you.”

Anwyn gave him a dirty look as she rested her forehead onto the hand-carved wood of the table.

Samara got up, making her way around Jones and to her medicine cabinet where she kept her anti-nausea tablets.  She returned to the table, handing the blister pack over.  “These are universal, so they should work.  You’re not allergic to anything, are you?”

Anwyn received the pack as if it was the most precious treasure.  “No, I’m not.  Thank you so much.”  She popped one of the tiny while pills out of its wrap and dry swallowed it. 

“I suppose this means you don’t want any coffee,” Jones asked mildly, as if he found the entire situation amusing.  He didn’t seem to have any trouble with the choppiness at all. 

The younger Star Dragon simply moaned, putting her head down again.

“It must be bad if she’s refusing coffee,” Jones commented.  He handed Samara one of the mismatched mugs she kept in the cupboard.  “I hope you don’t mind me going through the cabinets, but I wanted to contribute something to our quest.”

Truth be told, Samara was a little bit bothered by it, but one sip of the coffee had her changing her mind.  “This is…amazing,” she gasped, taking another sip.  Samara knew damned well that she only had some of the cheaper grade grounds on board; what Jones had done with them was something along the lines of a miracle. 

Jones shrugged, one-shouldered, looking pleased.  “Thank you,” he answered, bowing slightly, “I try.”

“Tad’s coffee is gorgeous.”  Anwyn sounded slightly jealous, not that Samara could blame her.  It must have been awful being seasick and caffeine deprived at the same time.

“Anwyn is more used to travelling by spaceship, not boat,” Jones explained, sipping his own coffee.  “Space is quite a bit less…turbulent.”

“Don’t make me say how much you hate space travel, Tad.”  Anwyn’s voice was muffled by the table.

Jones rolled his eyes good-naturedly, offering Samara a refill.  She almost turned him down until she realised that she’d drank nearly all of her coffee and hadn’t noticed.  She held the mug out, smiling as he poured. 

“Not everyone is cut out for flying around the galaxies.  It’s a case of not liking when I’m not flying under my own power,” the dragon explained.  “I just happen to love the feel of the wind on my scales.”

Samara couldn’t believe that she was sitting there, listening to an ancient being discussing their dislike of space travel. 

She had so many questions, but the one that came out first was, “You said your mate is from Boeshane,” she clarified.

“Jack,” Jones answered, a soft, fond smile on his handsome features.  “Yes he is.”

“You have an anniversary coming up?” As she spoke, Samara’s mind flashed on how she and Franklin had met, all those years ago.  They’d been so very happy, even though they both knew Maker’s World to be one of the more dangerous places to live on the frontier, but that hadn’t stopped them from having their own family. 

That had been a disaster.

“Their first mating was three thousand, one hundred and six years ago,” Anwyn mumbled.  “They get disgustingly sappy the closer they get to the actual date.  We all avoid them.”

Samara frowned.  That brought up other memories…visions of the two Time Agents, who had come to tell her that her eldest son had been killed in the line of duty.  If Jones’ mate was from Boeshane, that could only mean one thing. 

She hated time travel.  It had taken her only living son and had murdered him before his time.

“I can understand your confusion,” Jones answered, misreading her expression.  “My mate fell in with a time traveller and accidentally became immortal.  He was subsequently abandoned in the past.”  That last part came out in a growl that had Samara leaning slightly away from the being even though she realised his anger was not directed at her.

He must have noticed, because his expression changed from dark to chagrined.  “I apologise, Dr Wells, but what happened to Jack is still a sore point for me, even though it put him into a position to do amazing things.”

“And if it hadn’t happened,” Anwyn, raising her head, “then you and Dad would never have met and you wouldn’t have had me, so it’s a win-win situation.”  Her complexion was slightly less green, which meant the medication was working.

“Yes,” Jones said dryly, “we only got together so you could be born.”

Anwyn looked triumphant.  “It’s good that you’re admitting all that other stuff you and Dad did really didn’t come into it at all, Tad.”

“Of course it didn’t,” Jones sighed, sounding put upon, but his eyes were glittering with mirth.

Samara felt a pang around her heart at the obvious affection between father and daughter.  She’d loved her own children, of course, but after it had all fallen apart she’d had to blame someone, and her eldest had gotten the brunt of her misplaced anger.  It had driven him away…and Samara hadn’t known what had happened to him until the two Time Agents had come to her door, informing her of her darling boy’s death. 

She hadn’t realised that her world hadn’t come crashing down on her yet…not until she’d learned she would never get the chance to apologise to him for all the harsh words Samara had thrown at him. 

Even after the years had passed, it still hadn’t stopped hurting.

There were times when she thought about just leaving Boeshane; of finding a spaceship that was heading anywhere she could lose herself and just forget about the three large holes in her soul.  But, this was where she and Franklin had met; where they’d had their children; where they’d been the happiest.  She couldn’t leave.

“Are you alright?” Jones’ quiet voice broke through her melancholy.

Samara dragged her thoughts back into the present, trying to put a smile on her face…but something in Jones’ expression told her she might have failed.  “I’m fine,” she assured him.  “Just…thinking about the past, that’s all.”

He seemed to have accepted her word for it.  “After so many centuries it’s getting pretty hard in coming up with gifts for him that he hasn’t already had at some point.  Then I recalled him speaking about reef stones, and thought that would be perfect.”  He grimaced.  “Of course, this means I’ll have to somehow top that _next_ anniversary…”

“I can’t even imagine two people staying together that long,” Samara admitted.  The sheer number of years that Jones and his Jack had been together was staggering.  A small thought in the back of her mind wondered how they would have coped if they hadn’t found each other, but she didn’t let it linger, afraid to even consider that question.

What was it like to be immortal?  Living through so many centuries, people living and dying around them while they continued on, not changing and never aging…it was truly mind boggling.  She wasn’t sure she could even comprehend it all.

“I’m not saying that we haven’t had our moments,” Jones replied.  “There have been many times when Jack and I have needed time apart, but we always come back to each other.  You can’t be with someone constantly for that length of time; it’s impossible.  But we love each other through all that.  We are truly mates, and we have our eternity together.”

“Dad and Tad give all us kids hope for our own happiness,” Anwyn put in, “even if we tease them about being all mushy.”

“If I might be so bold,” Jones said, “but do you have anyone to spend your eternity with, Dr Wells?”

A part of Samara was upset by the question, thinking it was way too personal, but at the same time she’d asked questions she probably hadn’t really had a right to answer.  It was only fair that she allow a certain amount of inquiry into her own life.

“No,” she answered.  “I did have a family, but they’re all gone now.”  She took a deep breath.  “I lost my husband and younger son during an attack on the colony, and my older son left to join the army and then moved on to the Time Agency.  I…I was told he’d died.”

Both Star Dragons gave her looks of equal sympathy, which drove home to Samara that they, too, must have lost so much as well.  She swallowed thickly, not even aware that she was basking in that sympathy.

“My own family was killed when I was quite young,” Jones whispered.  “I still miss them, even after all these millennia.  So I know what you’re feeling.”

Somehow she knew this wasn’t some sort of platitude; that Jones really did feel her loneliness and pain.  But she was certain he didn’t have the same regrets she did. 

It was something she didn’t want to share.  It was hers alone, and she would keep it tucked away, deep within her soul, where it would stay until the day of her own death.

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I might do two chapters today... :)

 

**_1 April 5115 (Earth Standard Date)_ **

**_Boeshane Peninsula, Planet Maker’s World_ **

 

She’d been a little off on her estimate; they arrived at the reef beds a little under an hour, the current being in their favour.  The sun shone down as if blessing their venture, and Samara smiled as she released the electromechanical tether that would keep them from being pulled away from their position.

As she made fast, Samara glanced up and toward the shore, where the colony block she’d once lived in poked itself out of the beach about a klick from their position.  The inevitable bubble of sadness welled up within her, and she turned away, trying to ignore the proverbial mega-elephant on the horizon.

“It looks as if we picked a nice day to go swimming,” Jones commented as he came up from below.  He was dressed in a traditional diver’s wetsuit, only without the air tanks and other paraphernalia that someone exploring underwater for any period of time would carry.  His feet were also bare, and he padded silently over to the rail, taking a deep breath of the ocean breeze.

Samara frowned. “You’re going to need at least a tank to take with you.”

“Tad can hold his breath for really long periods of time,” Anwyn answered for her father, following him up onto the deck.  Her colour had vastly improved. “Besides, he’ll be in dragon form when he dives.  That just makes his lung capacity even greater.”

“And my inner flame will keep me warm,” Jones added.  “I might have to shapeshift in order to get the actual stone; I have no idea just how well my claws will be able to manoeuvre around something so small, but we’ll see.”

Samara couldn’t help the grin that spread across her face.  She was going to see an actual dragon!  A being straight from legend and it was going to take a dive right off her boat!  Her inner child squealed with pleasure, and her inner biologist wanted to babble on about mass ratios as it applied to shapeshifting, and how was it possible for a living creature to actually be able to breathe fire.  Certainly, she knew of other races that could, but in so many ways this was going to be different.  She’d never met one of those, and she was actually going to see it now!

Jones gave her a grin of his own.  “I suspect you’re considering just how you’re going to get samples of me because your inner scientist feels like it’s a child about to be given its favourite treat.”

Samara felt like she should be denying it, but it would have been a bald-faced lie and she suspected that Jones would catch her in it.  “I wouldn’t be a scientist if I didn’t at least play with the idea.”

“It’s good to know that the spirit of scientific discovery is still alive and well,” he quipped, his voice very dry and very amused.  “Do you have any advice for me, to find the stones?”

Samara nodded.  “The best stones are going to be in the shore-side of the reef, where the sand would be more likely to be caught.  You’ll be looking for a reddish-coloured area of the coral; that’s going to be where the stones will be.”  The red was indicative of the types of creatures that would create the reef stones.

“Excellent.”  With that, Jones climbed over the boat’s railing, resting himself there before to dove into the chilly ocean water.

Anwyn went to the rail, glancing down into the water.  Samara joined her in time to catch a golden glow that, at first, she believed was just the sunlight on the choppy water…but it only took her a second to realise that it was coming from _under_ the surface. 

The glow dissipated, and a shadow far larger than a human’s glided toward the surface.

A large, green-scaled head broke the surface.

Samara felt the need to sit down, but managed to stay standing.

She was seeing an actual _dragon_.

The head glittered in the sun, emerald scales and sea water reflecting the light back in multi-facets, until Jones – the _dragon_ – shook it, flinging the water off like a dog would do.  The dragon has a crest that began just above the blue, slitted, eyes and vanished into the water halfway down the sinuous neck.  Large nostrils flared, and the snout opened in a large grin that should have been frightening with all those sharp teeth, but Samara found herself charmed instead.

Anwyn leaned over the rail, holding out a pack with a long strap attached.  “Don’t go getting friendly with any of the fishes, Tad,” she teased.

“That,” the dragon said, reaching up with a large claw, one talon extended so that Anwyn could loop the strap around it, “is disgusting and I am disappointed in you.”  It was unmistakably Ianto Jones’ voice, only deeper with a rumble that underlay every word, and it put her in mind of hearing a rockslide.

Anwyn smirked.  “Just keeping up the Harkness part of my genetic make-up.”

“Your Dad would be appalled as well.”

“Then I must be doing it right.”  She flashed a bright grin at her father. 

He shook his head, and Samara learned then that dragons could roll their eyes with the best of them.  “I’ll be back as soon as I find what I’m looking for.”  With that, he completely submerged, a small trail of bubbles following him down.

Damnit, and Samara had wanted to see him breathe fire!

Then she blushed.  “Did I just say that out loud?”

Anwyn was laughing.  “You did.  But you can ask him.  Or me…I don’t mind showing off.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she answered, having so many questions about dragon physiognomy and culture and not being able to keep them in any sort of order.

The younger Star Dragon plopped herself down on the deck, back against the rail, legs spread out in front of her.  She looked up at Samara, her own blue eyes wise and knowing.  “I’m sure you have a lot of questions.”

She did.  Samara sat down next to her; there was nothing to do but wait for Jones to finish on the reef.  “I don’t know where to start…”

Anwyn laughed.  “That seems to be the reaction sometimes.”

“Just how many Star Dragons are there?” It was the first thing that came into Samara’s head fully formed, so she went with that.

Her passenger looked a little surprised at that.  “I think that’s a new one!”  She shook the sleeve of her tunic back, revealing her wrist.

Samara froze, recognising it instantly, her mind going back to that day, so long ago, when she’d been told her eldest son had been killed…

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the second. :)

 

**_1 April 5115 (Earth Standard Date)_ **

**_Boeshane Peninsula, Planet Maker’s World_ **

 

Anwyn must have felt her reaction, because she exclaimed, “This isn’t a Vortex Manipulator!”  She glanced at Samara, blue eyes sad yet curious.  “I’m not sure I want to know what caused that flinch, but I promise you I’m not a Time Agent or anything like that. The Time Agency’s been disbanded, and this,” she indicated the strap on her wrist, “is a personal computer.  I keep my personal codes and other files on it…including the family pictures.”  She grinned.  “I think your question is best answered by a bit of show and tell.”

Samara relaxed.  “Sorry about that,” she murmured.  “It brought back memories, that’s all.”

“You said your oldest son was a Time Agent?  That he was dead, right?”  Anwyn was sympathetic; she’d have to have lost so many people over the centuries, so Samara knew this wasn’t pity or anything like that.

Samara nodded.  “Please, show me your family.”  This was most likely going to be painful, to be faced with a family so happy, but she wanted to see. 

“Alright.”  Anwyn shifted slightly, giving Samara a better view of her wrist.  Pressing one of the tiny controls brought up a holographic display, one that was clearer than anything the scientist had ever seen.  “My son’s mate fiddled with it, so it’s got much better resolution than a lot of larger scale holograms out there.” 

“You have a son?” Samara was stunned, and yet she knew she shouldn’t be.  Anwyn was much older than she appeared. 

The Star Dragon smiled proudly.  “My only boy, Arthur.” She spoke into the wrist computer.  “Show latest of Arthur.”

On the display, a video appeared.  The man who appeared was blond, with the same blue eyes as his mother.  He was handsome and well built, and was smiling fondly at the recording device.  _“Happy birthday, Mother,”_ he spoke, his accent slightly different from Anwyn’s.  He glanced off screen, his face changing from fond to somewhat exasperated.  _“Merlin!”_ he shouted. 

 _“Coming!”_ a second voice responded.  Suddenly another man appeared beside Arthur; this one with a head of curly black hair and eyes just a bit deeper blue than Arthur’s; there was a thin band of gold around his irises.  He was thin and lanky, and had cheekbones that Samara would have killed for, although his ears were a little unfortunate.

But what really made Samara smile was the baby dragon in his arms.

“This is Merlin, my son’s mate,” Anwyn said quietly, “and my grandson, Rory.”

The creature was a mixture of gold and red, curled up against the blue of the man’s – Merlin’s – shirt.  Blue eyes blinked sleepily into the recorder, and a wide yawn revealed tiny, baby-sharp teeth.  The tail was curled around his father’s bicep, holding on even though the child was mostly asleep.

 _“Sorry,”_ Merlin said around a large grin, _“I needed to get Rory up from his nap, but your prat of a son couldn’t wait for us.”_

Arthur rolled his eyes good-naturedly.  _“I’m not the one who’s always late.”_  

 _“Happy birthday, Mam,”_ Merlin said, ignoring his mate.  He held up one of Rory’s arms, waving it toward the recorder.  _“Say hello to your Gran, Rory…”_

 _“We wish we could be with you,”_ Arthur took his turn in ignoring his mate’s antics, “ _but we’re on the other side of the Fourth Galaxy at the moment.  We did send you a gift; we hope you like it.”_

 _“She will,”_ Merlin butted in confidently.  _“I picked it out, after all.”_

_“Yes yes, Merlin… we all know what great taste you have.  I don’t have to remind you of that sculpture you got Grandfather…”_

“Recording off,” Anwyn ordered, and the picture faded away.  Samara was almost sad to see it go.  “That’s my Arthur,” she reiterated.  “He and Merlin ran Torchwood for a long time, but then Arthur got pregnant and they decided to retire…”

Something clicked in Samara’s mind, and her mouth dropped open.  “You’re the mother of the Once and Future King of Torchwood?” Of course she’d heard of Arthur Pendragon and his mate and Second, Merlin Williams-Song, the son of the Last of the Time Lords and the greatest magic user in the Twelve Galaxies.  They were practically legends themselves, and it had been Director Pendragon who had been responsible for the greater number of peacekeepers patrolling the fringes.  It was too bad that it had been too little, too late, to save her family.

“I was called Anwyn Pendragon back then,” the Star Dragon confirmed.  “I went back to Harkness-Jones not that long ago.”

“Is it true that they’re reincarnations of the original King Arthur and Merlin?”  Samara wasn’t certain she believed in reincarnation, but she’d heard the rumours and knew the old stories. 

“Oh yes,” Anwyn confirmed.  She spoke into her wrist computer again.  “Show Clint,” and then looked back at Samara as a still picture appeared.  “My brother, Clint, is also a reincarnation.  From what I understand, he came back because of his mate.” 

The young man in the picture had dirty blond, almost brown hair, his eyes a different blue as everyone else it seemed in the family.  He wasn’t traditionally handsome; his face instead looked well lived-in, as if he’d seen quite a lot in his life.  “Clint has the memories of this person who worked with Dad and Tad, back in the early days of Torchwood.  His mate, Phillip, is immortal…but not in the same way Dad is.”  She called up another picture, this one of Clint with a man who had thinning brown hair and…well, Samara had to wonder what it was with blue eyes in this family, because even the ones not related by blood had them.  Phillip had a kind face, with laugh lines and a gentle gaze.  And yet, besides that, there was something about him that looked _dangerous_ , as if he was hiding his true self behind a friendly façade, and she said so before she realised it.   

Anwyn barked a laugh.  “That’s our Phillip., alright.  He was the Grand Master of the Imperial Shieldsmen before he became Torchwood’s latest Director.  He’s possibly one of the most dangerous men I’ve ever met…and that’s not even counting his magic.”

Of course Samara knew of the Imperial Shieldsmen.  “Is everyone in your family famous?” she asked.

“You have no idea…” Anwyn called up another still picture, this one of both Clint and Phillip, and two young people who obviously had alien in them; if Samara had to guess, she would have said Margath or Draconian genes.  “Here are Nathan and Nicole…they’re Clint’s biological children, and Phillip adopted them when he and Clint were mated.  Nathan’s a bit of an oddity in our family, since he was born with his dragon form…that’s another subject entirely…”

Anwyn continued with the show, bringing up pictures of the other members of her family.  She was proud of each and every one of them, even her younger sister, Cadi, who was some sort of criminal if Anwyn could be believed.  Samara couldn’t keep her eyes away from the holographic photos that she was being shown; it was obvious just how much this family loved each other, and it gave her a warm feeling in her chest at the thought of so much happiness.

The Star Dragon cycled through what must have been dozens of images and videos, introducing to Samara each and every member of her family.  There was an Adjudicator, a medical doctor, a history professor and her mate – yet another immortal, although Anwyn claimed this man, Henry Morgan, was yet another different version of one…and judging from the expression on her face, this man’s type of immortality was fairly humourous. 

Two of them Samara actually recognised: Emlyn Jones, the model; and Morgan Jones, the singing sensation.  She had to be honest; she loved Morgan’s music, and had once hoped to attend an actual concert.  Alas, life had a way to putting such plans aside; Samara wouldn’t leave Boeshane unless she had a very good reason for doing so, and seeing a fantastic musician in concert just wasn’t that strong a one.

“Dragons have an almost genetic imperative to sing,” Anwym commented, as if noticing Samara’s interest in the still photograph of her sister, Morgan.  “We all have it, but Morgan was the one that believed it needed to be shared with the rest of the Universe.  Tad is immensely proud of her for doing it,” and then she chuckled, “even if he’s not all that fond of her singing style.”

Samara wondered where such an imperative would come from, but when she asked about it, Anwyn simply shrugged.  “Tad says it goes all the way to the beginning of dragon civilisation.  But so much has been lost, and he never asked about it when he had the chance.  To him, it’s just the way things are.”

That was a shame, in Samara’s opinion.  There was so much she wanted to ask, about where dragons had come from and how they’d evolved; how long their civilisation had lasted before Ifan Jones had become the last of his species.  No one really knew much about the Star Dragons, although it wasn’t from any sort of need to keep secrets as far as she knew…it was just that no one seemed to have ever asked, and it had become far too late when the notion had struck anyone to actually discover such things.

It was sad.  However, it hadn’t been the only time a race had practically died out without leaving their history behind for those who came after to learn, and Samara seriously doubted it would be the last.

As they sat together on the deck, Anwyn pulled up other pictures and videos of her family, telling stories behind each one.  As much as Samara was enjoying the show, she also felt such a stab of loneliness, knowing that this family had each other and that she had no one anymore.  A small part of her thought it wasn’t fair, that Anwyn had something that Samara never would, but then that wasn’t fair.  Samara’s family was lost to her; two through no one’s fault, and the third because she’d blamed a child for something beyond his control.  She would have given anything to tell her precious son that she was wrong, that he hadn’t done anything wrong, but she wouldn’t get that chance.

As the picture show came to a close, Samara realised there was one person she hadn’t met vicariously through Anwyn’s stories, and she mentioned it.

The Star Dragon’s eyes went wide.  “Goddess, I didn’t even think about that.”  She shook her head and then spoke into her wrist computer.  “Show Dad and Tad at the hellion’s birthday party.”

Another video came up, this one with the five littlest dragons on it.  Anwyn had explained how they’d been discovered, and Samara hadn’t been able to keep from smiling at the knowledge that, somewhere out there, there had been other dragons that had just been waiting for someone to find them.  She was actually able to recognise them: red James, brown William, green Oswyn, gold Robyn, and black Lisa.  They were practically swarming two men: one of them Ifan Jones – whom she’d learned from Anwyn was actually named Ianto, Ifan being just one of his many identities over the centuries – and the other…

He was a very handsome man, with brown hair and blue eyes, a dimple in his chin and strong jawline.  He was laughing and wrestling with William and Oswyn, all the while holding another child, a human-looking child, in one arm.  That had to have been Alyce; she had the same combination of features from her fathers that the other blood Star Dragons had. 

 _“Give it a rest,”_ he chuckled, _“or else your Tad won’t serve the cake.”_

That seemed to settle the babies down, and Samara noticed that even dragons could give those sad expressions that were often called puppy dog eyes. 

 _“Don’t tease them, Jack,”_ Jones chided, his own laughter barely contained.  _“Cake is always for birthdays.”_

That comment caused a renewal of activity, and someone else – just a pair of arms off camera – plucked James away, and the little red dragon wriggled.  _“You’re tickling me!”_ he squealed.

 _“Like that’s even possible, hellion,”_ whoever it was answered happily.  It was a pleasant male voice, with an almost Boeshane accent yet missing certain tonal values to it for it to be true Boe.  _“The day I figure out how to actually tickle a full dragon you’ll know about it.”_

There was more, but Samara suddenly felt the air slammed from her lungs as she recognised the man who Anwyn called Dad.

It was impossible.

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

 

**_1 April 5115 (Earth Standard Date)_ **

**_Boeshane Peninsula, Planet Maker’s World_ **

 

Samara had been told that he was dead.  The Time Agents who’d informed her had sounded so apologetic, so sympathetic when they’d come to her tiny flat in town to let her know that her son had been killed while on duty.  They’d brought back some of the belongings he’d collected through the years he’d been gone, and she’d never had the heart to even look through them.  The sealed box was in the bottom of her closet.

Samara was aware of everything that Anwyn had told her about her other father: Jack Harkness, immortal Director of the Torchwood Institute, who had taken that organisation and had made it great.  He’d been alive for over three thousand years, had once been a Time Agent, and who was mated to the progenitor of the Star Dragons. 

Who was her own beloved son, Jamys.

It wasn’t possible.  How had all this happened?  What had made Jamys into Jack Harkness?

And why hadn’t he come home?

Of course the answer to that was obvious.  After the way Samara had blamed him for losing Gray, of course Jamys hadn’t come back to that abuse.  She’d forced him away and into the military, and then into the Time Agents. 

Samara couldn’t even weep over it, because it was her fault that her only living son hadn’t let her know he was still alive.

The boat rocked heavily, and Samara ignored it, lost in her own misery.  Anwyn turned off the computer and stood up, and Samara ignored that too.  She heard Jones come back on board, and talk to his daughter, and that was ignored as well.  All she could think of was that her son was still alive out there, with a family that he loved and was loved by in return, and she hadn’t known.  That the Time Agency had lied to her.  Had they known that Jamys Franklinson and Jack Harkness were one and the same person?  Had they been covering up something, something they’d done to have made her son immortal?

What had they _done_?

“Are you alright?” a concerned voice startled her out of her thoughts.

Samara looked up, and saw Jones staring down at her, hair wet and worry in his eyes.  She didn’t know to react around him anymore, knowing that he was her son-by-marriage and not some stranger who’d simply come to the Peninsula to find reef stones for his mate. 

“Did you know?” she whispered, the words tumbling from her lips, not realising where they came from only that she suddenly needed to know if they had come on purpose, if they’d found her because of who she was, and that her son was the man this being loved for eternity.  Or had it been some sort of cosmic joke on her, to come this close to her son and perhaps not realising and that it had been the whim of a Star Dragon to prove that her Jamys had survived what had been thrown at him when she’d been convinced she’d never see him again.

Jones’ brows drew together, and he turned his gaze toward his daughter. “Anwyn, what have you done?”

The younger Jones looked defiant as she faced her father.  “I showed her, Tad.  I wanted her to know.”

The dragon sighed.  “I thought we’d agreed to find out more information before we did anything rash?”

“I couldn’t wait.  She wanted to know about our family, and then she asked about Dad…I didn’t show her anything until she asked.”

“You’re as impetuous as your Dad.”  Jones touched Samara on the arm, and carefully pulled her to her feet, steadying her as she swayed. “I apologise for my daughter, Dr Wells.  She had no right to break the news to you so baldly without us somehow preparing you first.”  His eyes then went hard.  “But we had to know… _I_ had to know if you were going to reject Jack like you did Jamys.  I’m not about to put him through that again.”  He glanced at Anwyn, who was suddenly contrite in the face of her father’s anger.

“But you knew.”  She needed the confirmation, even though any anger at them for hiding something so important was quickly fleeing. 

Of course they’d want to make certain she wasn’t going to hurt Jamys again if they told her who they truly were…who her son had become.  Because she was absolutely certain that they would have told him straight away, to keep him from searching for her if he so chose and to keep him from being hurt in that eventuality. 

They had no way of knowing she’d do no such thing.

Not after being told that he’d died, and living with the idea that she’d never be able to hold him again, and to let him know just how sorry she’d been about what she’d done to him. 

She let herself slump against the _Day Dream_ ’s rail as father confronted daughter.  He was unhappy, quietly berating her as Anwyn stood her ground, determination writ large on her face.  She really wasn’t paying all that much attention, as she considered her own thoughts in the matter.

Would Jamys even _want_ to see her?  Surely he would only think badly of her, after her harsh words to him.  Of course it hadn’t been his fault about Gray, but had he come to figure that out for himself?  Or did he still believe what she’d said, day after day, in her own misery, as she mourned her husband and her youngest?

Samara certainly hadn’t been in her right mind, and it had taken the loss of Jamys to knock her back to her senses.  Oh, not the loss of him to the army; she’d scoffed at that at first, thinking he would be washed out of training soon enough.  Jamys had always been a sensitive boy, and Samara hadn’t even considered that he’d end up on a battlefield somewhere and not right back home where he belonged.  It had never occurred to her that he might have forced himself to fit, in order not to have to come home. 

Everything he’d been through had, in the end, been because of her.

Would he have joined the Time Agency if she hadn’t forced him out of the only home he’d known?  Would he have become immortal in whatever way that had been done?  How much had his suffered because of her?

But then, as her attention went between each of the arguing pair in front of her, he would never have met this dragon; never had this child, or any of the other children.  They would not have discovered the five little dragon orphans. 

Chances were the universe would have been a very different place if she hadn’t been so negligent toward her own son.

Jamys Franklinson had grown into the extraordinary person, Jack Harkness, the man responsible for so much good in the Twelve Galaxies. 

She wished she could be proud of her own behaviour.  But she could never be.

But she could show Jamys the pride she felt in him, and to beg for his forgiveness.  Hopefully, he’d grant it.

“I want to see him.”

Her words cut through the rather heated discussion.  Father and daughter both turned toward her, Jones – she’d have to get used to calling him Ianto now – uncertain, while Anwyn was grinning as if Samara had given her the best present ever.

Maybe she had.  Samara would have to live up to that.

“I want to see him,” she repeated.  Samara held her hands out beseechingly, needing to break through the dragon’s doubt in her.  “He’s my son.  I might have treated him badly but…I need to see him.  To at least tell him I’m sorry…”

She didn’t want to think what she would do if Jamys didn’t accept her apology.  It would most likely kill something inside she’d long thought dead already, but was simply sleeping, waiting for the chance to let him know just how much she still loved him.

That she didn’t blame him for Gray.  That it had been her grief needing an outlet, and he’d been the closest one to her that she could heap all her pain onto.  It had been so very wrong of her. 

Ianto’s shoulders slumped at her words, his denial dissipating.  “He’s been through so much…” he began, only to be cut off by Anwyn.

“But this is why we’re here, Tad!  We decided this, the entire family, to see how our Gran felt about Dad, and if she wanted to see him!”

_Gran._

The word made Samara’s heart throb, a pleasant pain that warmed her through to her very soul.  She’d dreamt of a child, someone she would love as much as she had her two boys, and there she was, a proud and intelligent person who’d grown up without a grandmother but who wanted one now.

Before she even knew it, Samara had pulled Anwyn into a fierce hug, tears flowing fast and furious as Samara held onto her with all her strength.  She didn’t ever want to let go.  She’d already missed so much, and to have a second chance had been beyond hope for so long.

Anwyn embraced her just as tightly, and Samara could feel answering tears soaking her blouse.  “I want to know everything about you,” she whispered, not sure if she was speaking loudly enough for Anwyn to hear, but she went on, unable to stop.  “I want to be there when you need me.  Please let me try?”

The Star Dragon – her granddaughter! – stepped back just enough to meet Samara’s eyes.  She was smiling so brightly, and it was Jamys’ smile, and Samara didn’t know how she’d missed the resemblance.  “I can call you Gran, right?  I’ve never had a Gran before, and I don’t think I’m too old to have one now.”

Samara returned the smile.  “You’re never too old to have a Gran, Anwyn.”

She was practically vibrating as she looked toward Ianto, her smile never diminishing.  “See, Tad?  I told you everything would work out.”

Ianto was shaking his head, his lips crooked upward in a helpless-looking grin.  “I admit, I wasn’t so sure.  But then I suppose I’ve gotten just a touch more cynical in my old age.”

“You’re not old, Tad.” She waved him off with one hand, the other still tightly around Samara’s waist.  “You’ve just been disappointed a bit too much not to be cautious.  Besides, I know how much you want to protect Dad.”

Samara smile was watery when she met Ianto’s eyes.  “I want to meet him,” she repeated.  “I know I don’t have the right, but you were checking me out to see if I still felt the same way as I did when he left…”

“We were,” Ianto admitted.  “He misses you.  Of all the memories he holds dear is his time here on the Peninsula, with you and his father and Gray.  There are times when he’ll forget things, because the human mind just wasn’t meant to hold all those years, but he’s never forgotten you.  But he’d never come back himself because he was afraid of his reception.  I don’t think any of us even considered the idea that the Time Agency would have told you he’d died when he escaped them, though.”

“I…” she swallowed against the lump in her throat, “I don’t blame him for that.  I was horrid.  I had no right to blame him for what happened to Gray.  Jamys had been a child, and if anyone was responsible it was his father.  Franklin should never have left them alone.  Every day, I regretted not being able to find him and tell him that.”

“Well,” the dragon said, squeezing her shoulders, “you’ll get the chance to do just that.”

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

 

**_8 April 5115 (Earth Standard Date)_ **

**_Maker’s World_ **

It took them a bit to get Samara’s affairs in order.

Samara knew she’d never be returning to Maker’s World, now that her son was out there in the universe somewhere.  She’d be spending the rest of her life with her new family, and that mean relocating to Earth.

She found she didn’t care, as long as she was with Jamys.

Jack.

She’d have to remember that was his name now, and had been longer than Samara could even conceive.

Her boat was the first thing to be sold off.  Samara had taken a pittance for it, but Old Man Humphries had wanted it and Samara didn’t think she’d lack for money since she had a home waiting for her.  She’d never been to Earth herself, but her ancestors had come from there.  She was looking forward to finally seeing it.

Samara’s tiny flat had taken a little longer to clean out and find a buyer for.  Property wasn’t that much in demand in the city, much less the Peninsula, and she’d finally decided to just leave it in the hands of the local Adjudicator to handle instead of staying around and waiting for it to sell.  Together, the three of them got her meagre belongings packed up and loaded onto Anwyn’s ship, _Serpent’s Tooth._ Her cabin on board might have been smaller than what she was used to, but it was still a pleasant space.  The majority of her things had ended up in the hold, but Anwyn had showed her where they were stored so she could get whatever she wanted, when she needed something. 

A week to the day of a dragon and his daughter showing up on her boat and asking to be taken out to the reefs, Samara Wells was leaving the planet she’d lived almost her entire life on.

She was seated in the small bridge of the _Serpent’s Tooth_ as her home receded under the ship as it moved out of orbit.  Samara couldn’t help but watch, and something came loose in her chest, a weight she hadn’t even been aware of being there of her memories and regret and loneliness.  She was shedding it all like a sand snake shed its skin, and Samara felt so much lighter than she had in years.

“Will you miss it?”

Samara twisted in her seat, smiling at Ianto where he’d taken a fold-down seat behind his daughter, who was expertly piloting the ship away from Maker’s World.  She shrugged.  “I will.  There were some good memories there, along with the bad, but this is a chance for me to finally do the right thing with my son.  I’m going to grab onto it with both hands and hold on as tight as I can.”

His eyes were sad as he said, “I’ve often wished for a second chance with my own family.  But they’re long gone now, and I miss them every day.  Still,” and then he looked cheerful, “I have my own family now.  And you’re a part of that.”

Her chest warmed at his words even as she felt sad at what he’d lost.  “If Jamys chooses to forgive me.”

“Ah, Samara…he forgave you long before you were even born.”

Tears blurred her vision at his assurance.  Still, she needed to hear it from _him_ , and not his mate, for it to be real for her. 

“I can’t wait for you to meet everyone,” Anwyn gushed. “They are going to _love_ you.”

Samara couldn’t help but laugh.  “I love them already.”  She did.  There was still so much she needed to know about the family she hadn’t known she’d had, and both Anwyn and Ianto had promised to give her all the lowdown.

Never had she even dreamed of being a part of a family so large.  Before, it had just been the four of them, and then two.  Now she was being introduced into a clan that not only was made up of children, but adopted children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren, mates and nephews and nieces, and were considered their own race by the Imperial Court. 

And now they would all be hers.

It was almost too much to accept.

A warm hand grasped hers, and Ianto was searching her face and reading the uncertainty under the love she already felt for a group of total strangers who most were related to her by blood.  “It’s a bit daunting, I know,” he murmured, “but you’ll be fine.”

Once he’d believed her word that she wasn’t going to hurt Jamys again, Ianto had fully accepted her into the family.  He’d been the one to admit that he and Anwyn had conceived the plan to come and see her, to find out her feelings toward Jamys, and that the rest of the family had backed their plan even to the extent that they’d keep Jamys – Jack, why couldn’t she remember that? – busy while the pair had gone.  They’d claimed it was some sort of archaeological dig, where there had been possible signs of dragons in a long-dead race.  Apparently Ianto had a standing appointment with any such finds, and it was about the only thing that Jack would accept to take his mate that far away from home and for so long. 

Oh, Ianto had said there had been times when they’d been separated for much longer; people who had eternity together sometimes had to take breaks from each other.  But this time he was leaving Jamys with the six youngest children, many of them suffering issues with what had been done before they’d been hidden away.  It wasn’t the best time for Ianto to have taken off for an extended period of time, but he and Anwyn had done their best to plan for every eventuality. 

However, Ianto had confided that his mate was getting more antsier than usual, and that it really was time to head home.

Still, he’d gotten the two things he’d come to Maker’s World for: a reef stone, and his new mother.

Samara really enjoyed being called mother once more, even if it was by a five-thousand-year old dragon.

But truth be told, it was Anwyn’s use of the word ‘Gran” that really made her happy.

“We won’t dump you into the deep end,” Anwyn reassured her.  “So don’t worry about that.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” she couldn’t help but say.  It wasn’t to the point she was overwhelmed yet, but she knew the moment that Ianto and Anwyn began teaching her all about her new family that things might get weird.

The ship was passing the early warning nets that had been set up in the outer system, just on the edge of the inside of the asteroid belt that marked the edge of the star system.  Samara watched as they moved clear, the silver of the satellites glinting in the now-faint sunlight from Maker’s World’s primary.  She wanted to see her home one last time, and Anwyn, as if reading her mind, flipped a switch on the control panel and a screen flickered on, showing a rear view of the _Serpent’s Tooth_ with the yellow-blue of her world a small point in the far distance.

Surprisingly, there weren’t any more tears.  Samara had done enough of that back planetside.

Anwyn made the final check-in with planetary defence as the last of the satellites were left behind.  “It’s going to take us two standard weeks to get to Farpoint Station,” she said, toggling off the comm. For some reason her face turned nostalgic for a split second, and then she was smiling once more. “Clint is going to meet us there, but I’m not sure who’s going to be with him.”

“Most likely Rowena and Henry,” Ianto replied. “They are part of our cover, after all.”

From what little she’d been told so far, Samara knew that both Rowena and Henry were historians, and they had been the one to come up with the idea of the archaeological dig in order to explain Ianto’s long absence. 

“That leaves us plenty of time to explain our crazy family to you,” Anwyn went on. “We might be able to give you the basics in that time.”

Ianto rolled his eyes.  “It’s not that bad, Anwyn.”

“Yes it is, Tad.”

“I want to know it all,” Samara answered. She didn’t care about anything but learning about her now-found extended family.  She’s already lost so much time. 

She wasn’t about to waste anymore.

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today is a two chapter day... :)

 

**_16 April 5115 (Earth Standard Date)_ **

**_Enroute to ISS Tintagel (Farpoint Station), Imperial Space_ **

 

Despite knowing who she was going to see, Samara hadn’t been prepared for hearing her son’s voice, live, for the first time since she’d forced him from their home, a week out from Maker’s World.

It had been by complete accident.

Or maybe it wasn’t, because it had been Anwyn to send her after Ianto, asking for Samara to call him up to the small galley for dinner, when she could have used the onboard comm system to do it.

One of the many things that Samara had learned about her new son-by-marriage – or mating, as it was in dragon parlance – was that he absolutely hated space travel.  Anwyn would tease him mercilessly about it, but Samara supposed she could see his point: he was used to the open air, to be able to fly under his own power and not be reliant on technology to get where he needed to go.  He felt trapped, he’d confided, by metal walls and the vacuum of space surrounding them, and the knowledge that he was totally helpless was difficult for him to accept.  Still, it was something he’d had to deal with if he wanted to travel the galaxies, unless he could go by the system of transmats that connected many of the planets where Torchwood had set up bases around the Human Empire.

Another thing she learned was that Ianto had trouble sleeping while in his human form.  There were times when it couldn’t be helped, and he accepted such times with grace, but if he could he would always transform to sleep. 

To accommodate this, every spaceship that was owned or operated by one of their far-flung family had either a special room or a section of the hold fitted out with what was considered a traditional dragon bed: basically, a pile of blankets and pillows made into a kind of nest, where a dragon could stretch out and be comfortable. 

As she entered the large room where Ianto had been relaxing, she could hear a conversation taking place.

Confused, she walked toward the large creature in the middle of the room, who – surprisingly enough – looked as if he belonged in the almost empty cargo bay.  She’d seen him several times now in his true form, and it never ceased to take her breath away to be witness to something so amazing…something that not a lot of people ever got to see.  She felt honoured that she was now a part of this family.

Ianto was curled up amid the cushions, his head resting on an enormous red pillow, and he was speaking into a communication unit, the screen pointed toward him.  “– home soon,” he was saying to whoever was on the other end of the connection.

_“I can’t believe you left me with the hellions so long.”_

The answering voice was slightly distorted from the size of the speaker, and it had changed over the years, but Samara would have recognised it anywhere.

Her heart rose into her throat, keeping her from saying anything even if she wanted to.  Her hand went up to her chest involuntarily, as tears flooded her eyes.

She’d known where she was going.  She’d known that she was finally going to see her one surviving son again after living in remorse and guilt for what she’d done to him and believing that she would never get to hold him, to apologise to him for taking out her grief on him for so long and forcing him away. 

But now, hearing Jamys’ voice over that comm, it really hit her that she was finally going to see her baby boy once again.  To be a part of his life for as long as she had left in this universe, and to be surrounded by a family she thought she’d never have.  Ianto must have seen her enter; those wise eyes were watching her even as he was answering Jamys’ teasing comment.  He looked concerned, and she waved him off, not wanting to give away her presence there as he chatted with his mate who was waiting for them all back on Earth.

 _“You okay?”_ Jamys – Jack – asked, his own voice curious.

“I’m fine,” the dragon answered, eyes turning back to the screen.  “You know how much I love flying.”

A throaty laugh warmed Samara.  She was suddenly content to just listen to Jamys speak, to be able to etch his words into her memory and her heart. 

_“I wanted you to stay home, but no…you had to go on a wild goose chase halfway across the Empire.”_

He sounded put-upon, and Samara had to stuff her fist in her mouth to keep herself from laughing out loud.  Anwyn had once commented that her Dad was overly dramatic, and there was the evidence.  Samara didn’t need to even see the pout to know it was there.

But then, a change in tone proved to her just how much her son loved this impossible being.  _“I know how important it is to you.”_

“I wouldn’t leave if it wasn’t,” Ianto answered honestly, his own love apparent and so poignant.  “And you know I’m on my way home…”

_“Did you have any luck?”_

The dragon’s large eyes flicked in Samara’s direction and then back to the screen, and if she hadn’t been concentrating on them at that moment she would have completely missed it.  “That is to be seen,” was the bland answer.  “There are still a few things to check out, but I have hope.”

_“Then it was worth it.”_

The subject changed then, and Samara listened as they chatted about their children, and especially the aforementioned ‘hellions’.  She’d learned that was what the entire family had affectionately nicknamed the five little foundling dragons.  She also knew they’d each had issues that they’d been ‘hatched’ with. 

From what she’d gathered from what she’s been told so far, they were particularly worried about little Lisa, who should have gained her human form a couple of years ago but hadn’t yet done so.  Samara could understand; with that intuition that came with being a mother of her two boys realising that something was going on with a cherished child and not being able to figure it out was something every parent dreaded.  Maybe she’d be able to help them discover the problem; it would be some small payment for Ianto and Anwyn coming to her and bringing her to her new home, with her son and his wonderful family.

Oh, she knew there would be problems.  Samara didn’t doubt for a moment that it wouldn’t go smoothly all the time.  There had been too much that had gone on between herself and Jamys for things to be totally fine.  But she wasn’t going to give up, and she was going to show her boy just how sorry she truly was.  Nothing was going to stand in the way of her making things up with Jamys and to stay with him for the rest of her natural life.

She really didn’t want to think about what would happen when she died, and Jamys would have to go on without her.  Samara couldn’t even imagine what being immortal was like.  It truly frightened her to even have that word come to mind when considering Jamys and the life he’d built up.

Still, she knew she didn’t have to worry because Ianto would be with him.  The dragon had said it would be forever, and Samara believed him.  She didn’t even need to watch the pair together to be certain of their bond.  She was so very happy for Jamys to have found such a rare thing, even though he’d have had to go through so much terror and pain in order to achieve it.

Samara was about to leave the dragon to his comm but he looked up at her, smiling, and said, “I think I’m being summoned for dinner.”  He looked back, and the smile softened.  “I’ll call again.”

 _“You better,”_ Jamys chided.  _“And tell those daughters of mine that they need to come home soon.  Rowena’s even out of classes for the season so she doesn’t even have an excuse not to visit.”_

Samara was a little confused by that comment, but then recalled that Rowena and her own mate were supposed to be with them, as the cover Ianto and Anwyn had used to get away for the time it had taken for them to come and fetch her. 

“Give the babies my love, and let them know I’ll call earlier next time so I can say hello to them as well.”

 _“That would be great.  I think William is pining, and he’s getting twitchy as a result, which means James and Oswyn are on the verge of doing the exact same thing.  At least Robyn isn’t as bad…and as for Lisa…”_ he sighed.  _“She’s pulling away from us, Ianto, but maybe seeing you again will bring her back a little.”_

“Maybe we should have waited to release them from their eggs until Alyce was born and a little older…”

_“No, because I think Alyce is the only one of us who doesn’t treat them all like they’re broken, and that’s something each of them need.  And she’s the one Lisa turns to, if it’s not Phillip.”_

Ianto sighed.  “Please let them know I’m fine. I _will_ call tomorrow and talk to them.” He reached out a dangerous talon and gently touched the screen.  “I love you.”

 _“Of course you do,”_ Jamys answered, laughing.  _“I am imminently loveable.”_

It was all Samara could do not to laugh right along with the dragon at that.

“Goodbye, Jack.” The dragon’s tone was amused, the rough rumble not hiding the laughter.

He delicately used one of those talons to shut down the link, and the screen closed on its own as the call was disconnected. 

“I’m sorry,” she blurted, “I didn’t mean to listen in…”

“No apology is needed,” the dragon assured her.  “In fact, as my eldest daughter knows when I’m using the comm due to the fact that this is her ship, she would have known I was speaking with Jack when she sent you down to fetch me.”  His eyes narrowed as he regarded her.  “I do suspect though it’s just became real to you.”

Samara suddenly couldn’t speak.  She simply nodded, and the tears that she’d been holding back sprang free.

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And number two... :)

 

**_16 April 5115 (Earth Standard Date)_ **

**_Enroute to ISS Tintagel (Farpoint Station), Imperial Space_ **

 

She found herself curled up against the warm side of the dragon, not able to control her emotions any longer.  There was a tiny voice saying that this was her son-by-marriage, that it wasn’t right that she was seeking comfort from him when she should have been the one to offer it when the time was right, but Samara couldn’t help herself.  He was right; this had become _real_ to her, even though she knew her son was alive and well and these two were part of his family. 

Samara had expected to never see him again.  Jamys had been dead to her for a long time, and to know that he was alive and happy and scared to come to her…it made her so very happy even while it broke her heart. 

Her Jamys had had to go through so much without her.  Well, she could change that now.  She _would_ change it; she would be the mother Jamys deserved, and make up for all the time he’d been away, hating her.

No…that was it.  He didn’t _hate_ her.  Of that Samara was certain.  Her son still loved the mother he’d had to leave.  No, it wasn’t hate…he was afraid.  Of her.  Of what her reaction to him would be.

Silently, she thanked every deity she could think of for bringing Ianto and Anwyn into her life. 

Samara had no idea how long she laid against the dragon’s side, crying out her pain and loneliness and the horror of knowing what she’d done to her only living son. 

However, she was aware of the singing.

It was a quiet song, words in a language she didn’t recognise.  It was soothing and she let herself drift along with it, feeling the soft inhalation of the dragon’s side under her cheek.  Samara could almost sleep as she was, wrung out from emotion and too tired to move. 

She eventually did move, though, pulling away from the warmth and wiping her eyes with her hand.  “I’m sorry,” she apologised once more, her face sore from the salt of her tears.

“Don’t be.”  The long neck was twisted so that sad blue eyes could see her, and Samara thought there might have been tears on the fine green scales.  “This is difficult for you, after thinking Jack was dead for so long.  I’d have been surprised if you hadn’t broken down at some point.”

She sniffled.  “I just…you’re right.  I’ve been moving along with the tide, and now the wave has overwhelmed me.”

He smiled down at her, and while the display of all those teeth should have bothered her, instead Samara found herself calming from the roil of feelings that were still tumbling through her. 

Still, she wasn’t sure she wanted to talk to him about it, so she changed the subject.  “Tell me about them.” At his baffled expression, she added, “Tell me about the hellions.”

He accepted the question and didn’t push her for anything.  “Of course, there are five, as I’m certain Anwyn has told you…and shown you…”

Ianto went on to tell her about the five young foundling dragons that he and Jamys had adopted.  “Even though James was hatched first, we’re certain that William is the oldest.  He still remembers his true parents, and he realises that they had to leave him, so that makes him terrified that Jack and I will leave him as well.  He’s made James and Oswyn feel the same, although it’s not his fault, but the three of them still have nightmares about being abandoned.  They’re getting better though, but I’m quite sure Jack is understating their emotional states with me being gone so long.”

Samara didn’t say it, but she knew that Jamys would be able to empathise with the little dragons.  After all, wasn’t that what she’d basically done?  Abandon him, by blaming him for Gray’s loss? 

Her son was the best possible person to help those poor children.  Samara was very glad that they’d found them, and had taken them in. 

Maybe she’d be able to help as well.

“And then there’s Robyn,” Ianto went on.  “I had never met another dragon that was so afraid of flying before.  It must have something to do with her infanthood, but she simply doesn’t remember any of it.  It’s easier now that she’s gained her human form, so she doesn’t have to fly, but Jack and I have been working with her and we have hope she’ll someday get over it.  It’s been difficult but we have all the time in the universe to help her get through this.”

Then he sighed, and his voice was so much sadder than before.  “Lisa was the last one called from her shell, and at first she was close to both of us.  She wasn’t as clingy as the others, but that was fine.  However, as she’s gotten older…there are times when I see such fear in her eyes, of me and Jack and others, and we don’t know why she should be afraid of us.  Once again, it must be because of something that occurred when she was a baby and she just can’t recall it, but it’s just getting worse.  The only people she doesn’t flinch away from are our youngest, Alyce, and Phillip; we think it’s because he’s such a calm person and he doesn’t do anything to scare her.  She hasn’t even gained her human form yet, and she should have when she reached about ten years old.  She’s now a teenager, and it worries us that her development hasn’t been the same as the other children.”

Samara could understand his concern.  It was a parent’s every fear, that something could cause a beloved child to turn away from the very people they should be turning _to_ when they needed someone.  “Have you thought about asking Phillip if he and Clint would take her for a bit?”

“We have, and they would do it in a heartbeat if Lisa wanted it, although Phillip has expressed his worry for us over the arrangement.  He knows how much it would hurt us to give her up, but at the same time if it’s in her best interests we would do anything.  Lisa hasn’t said anything to us yet, but it’s only a matter of time.”

“You just want her to be happy.”  Her heart swelled for both of them.  They loved their little girl but only wanted what she wanted, and that was truly a wonderful thing.

Samara wished she’d felt like that back after Gray and Franklin had died.  But she hadn’t, and now it felt truly ashamed of her actions towards Jamys.  A part of her wished she could go back and tell her younger self to get her head out of her ass, but then that would change things.  She didn’t even want to think about that sort of thing.

“Are you going to let dinner get cold?” Anwyn’s voice broke her from her thoughts. 

The captain of their spaceship was standing just inside the hold, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.  She was dressed in what Samara had realised was her usual wardrobe: colourful blouse over black trousers tucked into low-heeled boots.  She wasn’t wearing the gun rig that Samara knew must usually accompany the outfit, but then they were on Anwyn’s home territory, and she was most likely comfortable without it, especially with her family near.

“I was speaking with your father until just recently,” Ianto replied as Samara stood.  It was kind of him not to mention the weeping mess Samara had become after hearing her son’s voice.  “And don’t think you’ve gotten away with sending your grandmother down here right at this particular moment.”

Anwyn shrugged, looking not at all apologetic.  “I just thought she’d like hearing Dad’s voice after so long.”

“I did,” she sighed, rubbing her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt, not bothering to hide her emotions.  Not from these two.

At that gesture, Anwyn looked contrite.  “I’m sorry if I upset you – “

“A little,” she admitted.  “But I’m fine.”

Golden light flared against the metal of the ship’s walls, signalling Ianto’s change to human form.  An arm went around her, and Samara was once again grateful for the support.  “Let’s get some dinner,” the dragon suggested.  “Give you some time to process.”

“That sounds like an excellent idea,” Samara agreed. 

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

 

  ** _27 April 5115_**

**_ISS Tintagel (Farpoint Station), Imperial Space_ **

****

Imperial Space Station _Tintagel_ – more popularly known as Farpoint Station – resembled a steel spider’s web that connected different sized sections, hanging against the backdrop of one of the Milky Way’s spiral arms, the light of millions of stars glittering along its silvery length and flashing on the myriad windows that dotted its surface.  It was large, and yet its spindly nature fooled the eye into thinking it was much smaller than it really was, and much more delicate.

It was one of the oldest space stations, having been built almost 2000 years ago; if Anwyn wasn’t pulling her leg – and there really wasn’t a reason why she should – then her son, Arthur, had been conceived on Farpoint.  It had explained that nostalgic expression that Samara had seen when Anwyn had first mentioned it, and it made her wonder just what had happened to Arthur’s father.  According to Anwyn, she didn’t know, having left the station before she’d even known she was pregnant.

Samara had never seen Farpoint, having never come out in this direction before.  Yes, she’d studied offworld but Maker’s World had been her home and she’s never thought to leave it.  Compared to Franklin, who’d come out to the fringes from galaxy centre, she might have been a bit parochial, but she hadn’t really cared all that much; she’d had her family and the thought of leaving had never even entered her mind.

And, after her family had gone, she’d stayed because of memories and regret.

Now, looking out at the spinning space station, she was once again glad that Ianto and Anwyn had come for her.  Seeing Jack was her primary goal, but now she was a witness to just how large and wonderful the Empire could be, and she wouldn’t have missed it for anything.

“ _Tintagel_ Control,” Anwyn spoke over the comms, “this is _Serpent’s Tooth,_ Earth registry TWV395, requesting permission to dock.”

 _“Permission granted,_ Serpent’s Tooth,” came the reply.  Control gave Anwyn the coordinates to an available docking port.

She expertly piloted the ship around the space station, dodging smaller satellites and other ships as she maneuvered them on their way to their destination.  Samara watched out of the cockpit window, feeling suddenly humbled by the immense construction outside, and she couldn’t help the awe that she just knew was on her face.

Their docking area was an extended gangway thrust out into space, and Anwyn steadily guided them in to dock.  There was a soft thump through the ship as it touched, and the unmistakable sound of pressurisation hissing as the airlocks engaged.  “I contacted Clint last night,” she said, climbing from the pilot’s seat and making her way through toward the airlock, Samara and Ianto right behind her, “and he said he’d meet us at the _Halcyon Stars_ on the Promenade.”

Samara didn’t know what the _Halcyon Stars_ was, but she figured she’d discover soon enough.

On their way to the lock, Anwyn stopped at a small cabinet near the ship’s hatch and removed her gun and holster from it, strapping it on and then checking the charge.  Samara wondered just how dangerous it was on the space station that Anwyn would want to be armed.

Ianto, however, was not, which didn’t exactly make her feel any safer.

She thought about her ancient plasma rifle, packed among the belongings she’d brought with her, and wished she had its comforting weight in her hands at that moment.

Anwyn charged the airlock and then they were stepping into the gangway.  It was cold, and Samara shivered in her flowing blouse and trousers, pulling the brightly coloured shawl about her shoulders.  She’d made it herself, one winter when boredom had had her researching projects she could do while cooped up within her tiny flat.  She’d discovered the joys of knitting that year, and she’d moved to making small things for her neighbours and for herself, and the shawl had been the first thing that had come from her hands and needles. 

She still knitted, and had made certain that her yarns and needles were brought with her.  She’d already started a scarf for Ianto, one that was close to the shades of the one that he’d worn that day when he’d stepped onto her boat.  She also planned on knitting a matching one for Jamys, and hoped to have them both done by the time they’d gotten to Earth.  And, once she had the proper colours for all of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren she’d have something for each and every one of them.

The gangway led into the space station proper, although Samara was a bit disappointed by the undecorated corridor that lay beyond.  She’d been expecting something…what, she couldn’t have said, but the plain walls weren’t it.

As if sensing it, Anwyn turned and winked at her. “You haven’t seen anything yet, Gran.”

Ianto was smiling. “She’s right. This is just the embarkation area.  Wait until we get into the station proper and you’ll see.”

The corridor went both left and right; Anwyn went right, leading them on past several other airlocks, some of them open.  They were greeted a couple of times by beings coming to and from their ships, and Anwyn always nodded and smiled in return.  Ianto did as well, but his expression wasn’t nearly as large or effusive as his daughter’s.  This was something Samara had noticed about him; he was quieter and calmer than Anwyn was, and she had to wonder if Anwyn had gotten her personality from Jack.  If so, he’d changed quite a lot from the last time she’d seen him, but then she hadn’t really been paying attention to him.  It was yet another mistake she needed to make up for.

The corridor opened up into a nexus of half a dozen other hallways, exiting at a bank of three lifts.  Three red lines decorated the walls and the lift doors, and Anwyn explained that this meant they were in section Red Three of the base, for easy location of their ship. 

The lift moved upward smoothly.  The farther they rose from the dock, the more nervous Samara became.  She was about to meet more of her family, and she really wanted to make a good impression.  From what Anwyn had said, she would be meeting at least Clint and Rowena, and Rowena’s mate, Henry, and while she’d heard all about them – including Henry’s unfortunate form of immortality, which apparently the entire family felt was funny – they really didn’t know anything about her besides what Jack would have told them.  Her son’s last memories of her had been bad ones, and Samara couldn’t help but be worried. 

The lift actually changed directions twice, but eventually brought them to a halt.  The doors slid open, and Samara suddenly suffered the biggest case of culture shock ever.

Where the lift let them out was an enormous space, arcing over their heads in a dome.  It was multi-storeyed, with clear windows along the uppermost balcony that let in the light of the Milky Way to illuminate the area.  Lights were also at the individual kiosks and businesses that filled the space, voices calling out as wares were hawked, all in the Galactic Standard, accents of the various races almost like a strange form of music.  

And they were all aliens.

Samara had gone to a university offworld, but it hadn’t been this…cosmopolitan.  It had been a small campus with mostly humans, and only a few races that had been unfamiliar to her at that time.  Samara had considered herself inured to different races simply because of her education, but this…this was completely different from anything she’d ever thought she’d experience.

She had no idea how long she stood there, stunned into immobility, but she was pulled from her shock by an arm threading through hers.  Samara turned to look at Ianto, who was smiling at her encouragingly.  “This is Farpoint’s Promenade, where most of the races that come through the station meet to do business, or even if they’re simply visiting.  You can also buy pretty much anything you’re looking for here, and if it’s not here then it can be gotten.”

“And yet you came to Boeshane to get reef stones?” she asked incredulously.

The dragon shrugged.  “It was something I wanted to get from the source.  Besides, it was worth it.” He gave her a sunny smile, and Samara couldn’t help but return it.

Together the three of them entered into the ebb and flow of life that made up the populace of the Promenade.  Despite not having seen any of these beings in person before, Samara could identify most of them from her studies, and she found herself getting excited at finally being in the presence of so many of them.  The scientist inside was gleefully cataloguing each and every race, matching them to the impressions she’d carried about in her mind. 

There were a couple she didn’t recognise, and Anwyn was glad to answer her questions.  Samara was impressed by her knowledge, and the Star Dragon simply shrugged, saying that she’d travelled the Twelve Galaxies for centuries, and she’d come across many more than was there at _Tintagel_. 

Samara wished she could have travelled as much.

The variety of goods and services on display was almost dizzying.  Samara wanted to stop and browse through it all, especially the booth that had all different colours and types of yarn.  She actually pulled Ianto toward the open booth, her hands itching to touch the soft-looking strands and wanting nothing more than to buy out the entire stock.

She ended up with several skeins of the softest wool yarn she’d ever felt, in various shades of green and blue, along with purple, silver, red, and black.  Samara knew she’d have a lot of work ahead of her if she was going to be making crafts for her new family.  

Anwyn arranged to have it all delivered to her ship, even giving the trader a healthy tip after Samara had paid.  It occurred to her that the money she was using was what Ianto had paid to be taken out to the reefs, and felt that was oddly appropriate.

“We should get going,” Ianto said after her transaction was complete, “they’ll be expecting us at the _Halcyon Stars_.”

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

 

**_27 April 5115_ **

**_ISS Tintagel (Farpoint Station), Imperial Space_ **

 

It turned out that the _Halcyon Stars_ was a quiet restaurant tucked away in what had to have been the most out of the way section of the Promenade and on the second level.  It was upscale from what Samara could judge, with fancy stained glass windows fronting onto a patio where several people were seated and were eating.  Plants lined the patio, and the scent of their flowers tickled Samara’s nose as they entered the restaurant. 

What Samara believed was a Sontaran was stationed just inside the door at a podium that was softly lit by a lamp that looked as if it had been organically grown from the material around the lip of the small station.  “Do you have a reservation?” he asked sharply, and Samara just had to wonder what had caused the Sontaran to fall so far from grace as to get a job as a _maître_ _d_ at such a place. She was expecting him to pull a gun if they didn’t have an actual reservation.

“We’re here with the Jones party,” Anwyn answered, giving the Sontaran a bright smile. 

The _maître d_ was totally unmoved by her expression.  “This way,” he practically ordered, turning on a smart pivot and leading them into the restaurant proper. 

It was dimly lit, with what looked like real wooden tables set up around the large dining room.  There was a fair crowd in the place, and Samara’s mouth watered at the delicious smells that were wafting up from the kitchen area just off the dining room.

The Sontaran took them to what was a private room off the main area, blocked from the other diners by a deep red curtain.  He pulled it aside, revealing a space beyond with a table that looked as if it would fit a dozen people.  There were only six chairs taken, though, and Samara recognised each of them from Anwyn’s pictures and stories. 

First there was Clint, who was rising out of his seat, a large grin on his face.  He was shorter than Ianto, with light brown hair and eyes that broke from the Harkness-Jones blue, being blue and green with a faint hint of brown.  His face looked well-lived in, but Samara could see the family resemblance in the chin and jaw. 

Beside him was a young girl that Samara knew was Clint’s daughter, Nicole.  She was the most exotic of the people in the room, with eyes that had double pupils and, if Samara wasn’t mistaken, webbed fingers.  She knew from Ianto and Anwyn that her other father had been a Margath, which explained both traits.

The blond man was obviously Arthur, Anwyn’s son, and the man beside him was Merlin, the infamous son of the last Time Lord.  Merlin was cradling a red and gold dragon in his arms, and Samara couldn’t help but smile at the child; seeing little Rory in person was so much better than in the video Anwyn had shown her.  And, judging from Anwyn’s exclamation of surprise, they hadn’t been expected to be there.

The last two people at the table, a woman and a man, were Rowena and Henry.  Rowena was very much Anwyn’s sister, with the same cleft in her chin and strong facial features, and she was also smiling as broadly as her brother.  Henry also broke the blue-eyed streak of family members; his eyes were dark, as was his curly hair. 

“When did you get here?” Anwyn was saying as she went over to her son.  She hugged Arthur fiercely, and he returned it. 

“We were in the area,” Merlin answered for his mate, “and Clint called and let us know you were going to be here.”  His eyes were on Samara, and she could see the ring of gold in them against the blue, and she felt like he was looking into her very soul. “We just had to be here.”

Samara suddenly found herself engulfed in a huge hug.  She returned it, laughing breathlessly as Clint exclaimed, “Welcome to the family, Gran!”

Tears threatened to fall as she melted into his embrace.  Those words made her heart swell.  Clint most likely had no idea what it meant to her to be so welcomed, and all of her fears dropped away.  She need not have worried it seemed, and a weight lifted from her that she hadn’t even known she’d been carrying around. 

“Let her breathe, Clint!” It was Rowena who spoke laughingly.  She was close, and once Clint had sheepishly released her, she was next, also hugging Samara, just not as tightly.  “We’re so glad you’re here,” she murmured in Samara’s ear. 

“I’m glad to be here, too.” 

She was, so very glad.  Glad that Ianto and Anwyn had come to Maker’s World; glad that Anwyn had been so forward at revealing her Jamys was alive and with such a family as this.  She could have lived the rest of her life alone, and lonely without ever knowing that her son was alive and out there in the universe if they hadn’t come to find her.

Once Rowena stepped away, Samara found herself with an armful of sleepy-looking baby dragon, small tail wrapping around her forearm possessively.  “Meet your great-great grandson,” Merlin introduced proudly.  He tickled under the baby’s chin, and he wriggled, making a noise that was altogether too cute for words.  “Rory, this is your great-great gran, but you can call her Gran, for ease of speaking.” 

Samara stroked the soft-steel scales of the child in her arms, and there were no words to describe how she was feeling in the moment when Rory grabbed onto her finger, grasping tightly, his blue eyes looking up at her with infinite trust.  It brought to mind the first time she’d held either of her sons after they’d been born; just how tiny they were, how much they would depend on her, and how much her world had changed. 

Her world was changing again, and she would never want to go back.

 

 


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm impatient, so you're going to get the last three chapters of this story today. Then, tomorrow, we'll start on the second story of this trilogy, "A Mother's Duty".

 

**_27 April 5115_ **

**_ISS Tintagel (Farpoint Station), Imperial Space_ **

 

Dinner with her new family was full of laughter and tears, and Samara loved every minute of it.

When she would think back on that night, she would never remember what she actually ate.  It was all about the eight people around that table with her, sharing stories about themselves and the other members of the large Harkness-Jones clan.  Samara soaked it up like a sea sponge, revelling in the complete acceptance she was being given.

A part of her wanted to be cautious; after all, it had been her problems that had forced Jack away, and was expecting these wonderful people to decide to reject her for hurting him that way.  But she’d spent two weeks with Anwyn and Ianto, and knew them as well as she thought she could, and was certain there wasn’t a cruel bone in either of their bodies.  They would not have exposed her to anything that would hurt her.

If there was anything that really convinced her, it was how they trusted her with Rory.  The little dragon wasn’t even one standard year old yet, and would have been helpless against anyone with bad intentions.  His fathers were perfectly fine with her holding him, which she did at every opportunity.  Anwyn even teased her about monopolising him, and Samara had laughed and handed him over to his grandmother.

Samara also found herself gravitating toward Henry.  The man was intelligent and had a self-deprecating sense of humour, especially about how he resurrected after dying, commenting that it was really difficult finding an open body of water on the Moon, where he and Rowena lived.  Samara couldn’t imagine it herself; dying and then coming back to life.  She was aware that her Jamys was like that as well, and it broke her heart, but at the same time she was grateful that what had happened to her son had allowed him to find this sort of family.  His immortality had also brought him back to her…or it would, she hoped.

Dinner lasted late into station’s night cycle, and Rory was deeply asleep in Arthur’s arms by the time the party broke up.  “We should get this one to his bed,” he said.  Samara had noticed that he had a very precise way of speaking, and wondered if it had to do anything with his former life as a King on old Earth.  “This day has been a bit too much for him, I’m afraid.”

“How did you get here?” Anwyn inquired.  She was leaning against Rowena, a definite sign of sisterly affection.

“Phillip furnished a ship,” he answered.  “When Clint called and told us about today, we knew we wanted to be here, so Phillip had a Torchwood transport meet our cruiser and shuttle us here.”

“Misusing Torchwood resources?” Ianto teased.  “I’m not sure how I feel about that.”

Arthur rolled his eyes.  “It’s not like you and Grandfather haven’t done it yourself.”

“Phillip has been one of the instigators of our little plot,” Clint explained.  “When Tad went to him with the idea, it was really just to get background on you, so we could then feel you out about how you still felt about Dad.  But he really jumped into things feet first, and it was his plan to arrange a fake archaeological dig as a cover story for Tad leaving Earth for so long.  He also arranged for Rowena and Henry to get time off from University, the better to cement the cover story.”  He let a soppy expression cross his face.  “That’s my mate…always planning.”

That earned him an elbow in the ribs from Anwyn, who Samara knew was just as in love with her own mate, and had no room to talk.

“We’ll be getting a lift back to Earth with Clint and Nicole,” Merlin added.  “We’ll meet you all there.”

“Good thing I kept my own ship after I retired,” Clint quipped, adjusting what was a quiver – a quiver! – looped over his shoulder, bow hooked around it.  From what she’d learned about him, that had been his preferred weapon in his other life, and his expertise had carried over into this one.  “We’d never get home without it.”

“Unless Phillip arranged your transport as well,” Arthur snarked good-naturedly.

“There is that,” Clint agreed, causing the others to laugh.

Samara just basked in it all.  This was what family should be like, and she was loving it.

“We’ll be going with Anwyn,” Rowena said, “As much as I loved spending time here on Farpoint, it’s time to go home.”

“I have to agree,” Henry added.  “I do miss my own bed.”  He also had a strange way of speaking, with an accent that was almost like Ianto’s but slightly different.  He was also dressed a little differently, wearing a slightly anachronistic jacket and trousers, with a scarf about his neck.  Samara made note of the pattern and added it to the list of things she needed to knit for her family.  He also wore a waistcoat that even had a watch chain across his trim abdomen.

“I rather miss your bed too,” Rowena murmured. 

Henry blushed.  It was endearing.

“How long will it take us to get to Earth?” Samara asked.  Now that she’d met some of her family she was anxious to meet them all.

Especially her Jamys again.  Or, as she was getting used to thinking of him now, Jack.

“Seventeen more days,” Anwyn said.  She smiled.  “Not that long now.”

It felt like forever, to be honest, but Samara could wait.  It would just be hard to do it.

 

 


	13. Chapter 13

 

**_14 May 5115 (Earth Standard Date)_ **

**_ISS Alpha One, Earth Orbit_ **

****

The closer Samara had gotten to Earth, the more out of control her emotions became.

She looked out of the cockpit window of the _Serpent’s Tooth_ and down at a planet she’d only ever seen on vids, and honestly thought she’d never get this close to.  She had to admit, it was a pretty little world, green and blue and brown, and it didn’t look at all like the legend that had grown up around it: the homeworld of humankind, where Torchwood originated, the planet where the Last of the Dragons had been born and where the Star Dragons had arisen from the ashes of their Earthbound kin.

It was an impossible planet.  So much had come from it, and yet it was still in what could be considered the backwater of the Milky Way galaxy.  The Imperial Throneworld was much more central to the Empire, and yet this was where it all began, and her own family had such roots there that they were practically created from the bones of the very world they called home.

Even her son, who had been conceived and raised on a planet long removed.  Jack Harkness was more a child of Earth than Jamys Franklinson ever had been a child of Boeshane.

“You alright?”

Samara looked away from the planet below, smiling as she met Ianto’s concerned eyes.  “Not really, but I don’t think I will be until I see Jack again and he forgives me.”

“He forgave you long before you were even born,” the dragon said.  He’d said the exact same thing several times over their voyage.

She gasped out a breathless laugh. “That sounds absolutely ridiculous, even when I know it’s probably true.”

“It is.”  He reached out, clasping a hand in both of his overly warm ones.  “It’s very true.  And I cannot wait to see his reaction to you being there.”  He squeezed her fingers.  “Trust me, Samara…Mam…Jack will have the shock of his life when he sees you.” 

The thing was, she did.  She trusted Ianto Jones with her very life…and more importantly, her son’s heart.  She knew the dragon was stating the absolute truth, that Jack had forgiven her for her harsh words and her even harsher accusations, and that the only thing that had kept him from coming to her himself was that deep-seated doubt that _she_ hadn’t forgiven _him_ , that she still hated him for what she’d accused him of doing: of letting go of Gray, when he’d been given the responsibility for his younger brother’s safety. 

What made things worse, was that Ianto had explained to her about what had happened to Gray.  That her younger child had also blamed Jack and had attempted to murder his old team, back in the twenty-first century.  He’d told her that they’d managed to stop Gray, but they’d had to put him into cryogenic suspension, because the only other alternative had been to kill him, something that Jack would never have done or condoned.  Ianto also informed her that Gray was still in suspension, under the custody of Torchwood, and that Phillip had been the one to suggest that she might be the one to help him when the time came to wake him up once Ianto had gone to the current Director of Torchwood for help with his plan to find Samara.

She didn’t know what sort of plan Phillip had in mind, but she knew she’d help her younger child in any way she could.  Even though she’d never met Phillip Coulson, she trusted him, simply because Ianto did.  It didn’t hurt that he was Clint’s mate, either.

Samara took a deep breath.  “So, what’s the plan?”

Ianto accepted the change of subject with grace.  “We’re going to have a shuttle at Alpha Station.” He motioned toward the front window again; hanging in orbit was Earth’s major space platform, so large it cast a shadow across the planet’s surface.  “It’s one of a couple of our family’s personal ships, ones we use whenever the children come home and they need a way to get down to the planet’s surface.  With the new conservation efforts going on, larger ships like the _Serpent’s Tooth_ are encouraged to dock up on Alpha and then use smaller shuttles to get to their destinations.  The only major spaceport on the planet is over in the United Americas, and we’d still have to shuttle over to Ddraig Llyn anyway if we did land there.  So it’s just easier to leave the ship up here.”  The dragon sighed.  “We do have a personal transmat up on Alpha, but for this the shuttle is the best way.”

“I’ll bet you’ll be glad to set foot on your homeworld once more.”  She hadn’t helped but notice how jittery the dragon became the closer they got to their destination.

“I will be,” he admitted.  “I might have spent almost six hundred years on Hubworld, but there’s something about Earth that’s home to me.  It always will be.” He smiled fondly. “And I hope it will be for you, as well.”

“It will be,” Samara assured him.  “My family is there.  It’s automatically my home now.”

That earned her another squeeze from the hands that held hers, and the happiness that shone from those ancient eyes warmed her.

“If you two are done being sappy over my control deck,” Anwyn spoke up from the pilot’s chair, where she’d had a front-row seat for their conversation, “we’re coming up on Alpha now.  I’ll call in for our flight path to our docking port and we should be ready to disembark in about fifteen minutes.  Better go back and let Rowena and Henry know.”

Ianto gave her a salute that had Anwyn snorting in pleased exasperation, and Samara smirking.  If there was one thing she’d learned over the long trip to Earth, was that Anwyn loved being the captain of her own ship, and she enjoyed it when her various family members acknowledged that fact.  She was justly proud of the _Serpent’s Tooth._

Samara followed Ianto back into the ship, where they found Rowena and Henry in the galley, sipping the coffee that Ianto had made earlier.  “Fifteen minutes,” Ianto said as they entered the small room. 

Rowena looked excited at the prospect, while Henry simply took her coffee mug from her hand then turned to wash it and his own out in the sink.  She’d noticed that he was the more domestic of the two. 

“The rest of the family will be waiting,” Rowena said, “although they’ll give us time to get you to Dad before descending in full strength.”  Her eyes practically glowed with happiness. “We’re all so pleased that you’re here and that you’ll be reunited with Dad.”

That was one thing she didn’t doubt in the slightest, not after both Rowena and Anwyn had made that perfectly clear.  Of course her greeting by Clint and the others had helped, as well.  They were truly glad she was going to be more of a presence in all their lives, and Samara was humbled by it. 

She just had to get past the hump of seeing her son again after all these years.

Fifteen minutes passed like snails crawling along the beach.  Samara already had her personal items packed away for transfer to the Harkness-Jones family shuttle, so really all she could do was wait. 

She was so close.  Jack was just down on the planet below, unsuspecting that his mother was in a ship that was about to dock at Earth’s primary space station.  Samara found herself pacing her small cabin, wringing her hands as she imagined what their meeting would be like.  What would he do when he saw her?  There were so many ways this could go, and her mind was throwing up all sorts of scenarios. 

It was noticeable when the ship docked; the slight hum under her feet settled, and the background noise she’d grown accustomed to ceased.  She didn’t need the knock at her door to alert her to their arrival, but she used it to take a deep breath before leaving the cabin.  Ianto stood on the other side, and he took her hand in support.

She hoped he didn’t mind just how sweaty her palms were.

Alpha Station was different from Farpoint.  Instead of the impersonal gangway that had greeted them at Farpoint Station, there was a comfortable lounge just outside the airlock, with sofas and chairs spaced around a carpeted room and artwork on the tastefully painted walls.  A small kitchenette was against one wall, and there were several doors that Samara guessed led to either a bedroom or bath.

A man was awaiting them.  Samara knew him immediately from his pictures: Phillip Coulson, once Grand Master of the Imperial Shieldsmen, and now current Director of the Torchwood Institute.  He looked like some sort of management type, wearing black trousers and a tunic with the stylised red T and dragon of Torchwood on its breast.  He wasn’t armed, but Samara didn’t doubt Anwyn’s words to her back on Maker’s World: this man was dangerous, he just hid it really well.

Phillip wasn’t alone.  With him was a black dragon, sitting next to him, silver-green eyes watching closely as they disembarked the _Serpent’s Tooth._ This was Lisa, the last of the orphans hatched into the Harkness-Jones family, and Samara’s heart went out to the wary little dragon as she ducked slightly behind Phillip, her trust in him evident.

It was all Samara could do not to go up to her and hug her.

The smile that greeted them lit up Phillip’s blue eyes, and if Samara wasn’t mistaken there were actual blue flames deep within them.  She’d been informed of Phillip’s ice magic, and how he’d gained it after being killed by a mad God.  “Welcome,” he greeted warmly.  He stepped forward and took Samara’s hands from Ianto.  Phillip’s fingers were slightly chilled compared to the dragon’s.  “I’m very pleased to finally meet you.”

Samara was instantly charmed by him, but not in the way she’d been charmed by others of the Harkness-Jones family.  He was serious behind his welcoming smile, and that seriousness was enough to convince her of his total sincerity.  “As am I,” she said, equally sincere. 

Phillip twisted slightly, and Samara found herself looking into silver-green eyes once more.  “Lisa, this is your grandmother,” he introduced solemnly.  “Samara, this is Lisa Harkness-Jones.”

Releasing Phillip’s hands, Samara knelt on the plush sea-blue carpet.  It put her a little lower than the young dragon, but somehow she felt that she needed to make herself as less imposing as possible.  “Hello, Lisa.”

“You…you’re really my grandmother now?” she asked timidly.  Her wings fluttered slightly, and Samara took that to mean that Lisa was just as nervous as Samara herself was. 

“I am,” she answered. 

And then, to her complete surprise, Lisa launched herself at Samara, clinging to her as if she didn’t want to ever let her go.

Samara held her just as closely.  She could feel the little dragon shaking against her, so she pulled her tightly against her, amazed that such a child who’d never met her before would be so inclined to accept her so completely.  She knew her history, and of her strange fear of certain members of her own family, so to have her want to be close to Samara was a very pleasant surprise.

“You’re never going to leave, are you?” Her words were slightly sibilant, almost as if she had some sort of lisp.

“No,” Samara promised.  “I’ll stay as long as you want me to.”

Lisa settled against her even more closely. “Good.”

Her eyes twitching up at Phillip, she caught his very own surprise at Lisa’s reaction to her.  Then that surprise softened into happiness, as if he was glad that there was another adult that Lisa had taken a shine to.  It meant sharing the burden of responsibility for the child, and that was something Samara was more than glad to do.

She was determined to find out what was going on with Lisa, and she would have an ally in that purpose.

Eventually the little girl let go, and Samara stood.  She managed to catch the expressions on her family’s faces, and to a person they were all looking at her with varying degrees of happiness.  Chief among those was Ianto, whose eyes were glittering with unshed tears.  He nodded at her, giving her his silent permission to help his daughter however she could. 

Phillip cleared his throat. “The shuttle is waiting,” he said.  “Do you want to unload the _Serpent’s Tooth_ now, or wait for another trip down?”

“Let’s head down now,” Ianto replied.  “I’m sure Samara wants to see Jack as soon as she can.  We can always come back up for everything but our cases later.”

Samara nodded. There wasn’t anything on the ship that couldn’t wait. 

 

 


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the last chapter: the reunion! Look for the next story to start tomorrow.

 

**_14 May 5115 (Earth Standard Date)_ **

**_ISS Alpha One, Earth Orbit_ **

 

Now that she was so close, Samara knew she didn’t want to wait any longer to see her son.  She wanted to see him, and to hold him once more. To know that he truly did forgive her, and wanted her back in his life.  She wanted to know that what everyone said was true, that her Jamys – her Jack – truly still loved her despite how she’d treated him.

It was time for her to get on with her life, and that life would be with her family.

“This way, then.” With a gesture Phillip guided her through the lounge and toward the exit.  There was a hallway beyond, also carpeted, and on the opposite wall was an airlock-like door.  That door opened under Phillip’s touch of the control panel, revealing a large docking bay with two shuttles parked within.  One of the shuttles was open, and it was to that one that the group headed toward. 

“Where are the others?” Samara asked as they all trooped into the small ship.

The inside of the shuttle hadn’t been set up for comfort.  It was basically metal walls with fold-down seats built in.  It was most likely more for cargo than passengers.

“Clint contacted me, and they’re due to arrive in a couple of hours,” Phillip answered.  “They’ll follow in the other shuttle.”

“Will you fly us down, Anwyn?” Ianto requested.  “Your Dad will be expecting you to be with me, after all.”

“Of course.”  Anwyn grinned and made her way toward the cockpit.  “Everyone strap in,” she called back over her shoulder.  “As soon as I get clearance we’ll be leaving.”

Samara took a seat next to one of the empty jump seats, buckling herself in.  Lisa jumped up beside her, with Phillip on the other side next to the young dragon.  He carefully helped Lisa get situated and then hooked up his own seat belt, the dragon resting her head on his shoulder.  Samara couldn’t help but notice how his presence calmed Lisa, and she hoped that she could also be such an influence as well.

There were no windows in the shuttle so Samara couldn’t see what was going on outside, but this small shuttle obviously wasn’t equipped with gravity control, because the feeling of weightlessness overwhelmed her as the shuttle left the gravity well of Alpha Station.  She’d never felt such strangeness before, and it was a bit unsettling.

She wasn’t the only one feeling that way.  Ianto’s pale face had gone just a bit green, and Henry didn’t look at all happy with the situation either.  Still, she knew it wouldn’t be long before they were in Earth’s gravity, she just had to keep her nausea under control until they arrived.

The lack of gravity wasn’t helping her nerves any.  Samara took a deep breath, and then exhaled slowly, wanting the trip to be over.  She wanted to get her feet back on the ground, and it didn’t matter what sort of ground that was if Jack was there as well.  Still, she’d seen images of Ddraig Llyn, and she was looking forward to seeing it in person; it was so very different from where she’d lived most of her life, and this was yet one more change that she felt she was ready for.

A clawed hand grasped hers, and Lisa’s black scales contrasted against Samara’s tanned skin.  She smiled over at the dragon, who was staring at her from her position against Phillip’s shoulder.  Samara couldn’t help but grasp back, her eyes softening at the young dragon’s obvious distress.  Samara wondered what had motivated her to want to come up to the space station with Phillip if she was that uncomfortable, but figured it was because it was Phillip, and the idea of meeting her grandmother for the first time.  She had to admit, she was touched by it.

It wasn’t long before gravity reasserted itself over the passengers in the shuttle.  Samara felt heavy in her seat once more, and she couldn’t help but sigh in relief.  She hoped she’d never have to travel like that ever again. 

She wanted to be home.  And it was just below the shuttle, just waiting for her to set down for the last time. 

Her heart was hammering in her chest, and Samara wondered if this was what a heart attack felt like.  The only reason her hands weren’t trembling was because one was grasping Lisa’s, and the other was clinging to the straps that held her down in her seat.  It would be only minutes now. 

She wished she could see the valley as they approached landing.  She’d lived in a desert for so long that the idea of mountains and trees was like a dream to her.  Would she like all that green?  What would it be like in the winter?  Ianto had told her there would be snow, and that was something she’d never seen.  Ice yes…but not snow.  The child in her couldn’t wait to go out and play in it, and she could use her little grandchildren as a cover for her own excitement.

The sound of engines roared through the shuttle, and suddenly Samara couldn’t breathe.  As soon as those engines stopped, it would be meeting her destiny.  She would be face to face with her son, the one she’d forced away.  She’d come begging for his forgiveness, and if Ianto was judging correctly she wouldn’t have to beg very hard at all to gain it.

The shuttle settled, touching down on her new home planet.

She couldn’t move.  The others were getting up from the jump seats, Phillip helping Lisa get unhooked from her harness.  But Samara sat there, frozen.

Jack was just outside.  He didn’t know his mother was on board the small ship.  He was going to be so very shocked, and there was no way she could even guess at his reaction.

“It’s going to be alright,” Ianto’s quiet voice shook her from her nerves.  He was so very certain, and Samara couldn’t help but accept what he was telling her. 

She removed her belt and stood.  The dragon took her hand once more.  Samara nodded at him, determined to get this over with, fearing for the worst yet praying for the best.

“Anwyn and I are going out first,” he told her.  Then he grinned slyly.  “You’ll know your cue when you hear it.”

Anwyn was already by the hatch, and it was slowly lowering to let in the first fresh breeze that Samara had smelt since leaving the Peninsula.  She took it in as the pair made their way down the ramp, letting it cleanse her lungs as she listened for the cue that Ianto had said was coming.

“There you are!” the unmistakable voice of her son drifted in through the open hatch.  “It’s about time you were back!”

“Did you think I wasn’t coming?” Ianto teased. 

“Of course not,” Jack answered.  “It’s just that the hellions were asking me every few minutes when you’d be back.”  He paused.  “Lisa’s with Phillip, though.”

“It’s where she wants to be,” Ianto soothed.  “She’ll be fine with him.”

There was a sound that Samara identified with kissing, and she couldn’t help but grin at just how long it went on. 

There was some considerable eye rolling going on within the shuttle.  Samara felt herself actually blushing.

Finally, she heard Anwyn say something that Samara didn’t catch, but from her tone of voice she just knew it was a cutting remark.  There was a laugh, which must have come from Jack, and Ianto told their daughter off for accusing them of being mushy when he’d seen her be the same way with Gwaine.

“Jack, I did bring a surprise back for you,” Ianto said lightly.  “Just because you were so patient with me being gone so long.  I thought I might save it for our anniversary, but I don’t want to wait.”

“Oh really?” Jack sounded pleased.  “See, you _do_ love me!”

“Of course I do, silly,” the dragon replied.  “And I think you’ll enjoy this surprise very much.”

There it was.  It was time.

Taking a deep breath, Dr Samara Wells stepped into her future.

The valley of Ddraig Llyn was even better in person than it was from the images she’d seen.  Warm sunlight dappled the water of the lake, and glistened off the tops of the snow-capped mountains that surrounded them.  Wind ruffled her hair, and there was a feeling of peace in her surroundings that, even though her attention was on the man standing before her, Samara could feel herself relaxing.

But yet, her son was the only thing she was really seeing.

Jamys had grown into such a handsome man, more like his father than Samara herself; but then, he’d always taken after Franklin in looks and temperament.  He was as tall as his mate, a bit bulkier in the shoulders, dressed in what must have been old fashioned attire, with actual braces over a blue shirt and dark trousers.  Sturdy boots were on his feet, perfect for climbing the mountains around them. 

This was Jack…her son, Jamys, all adult. 

The look on his face…it stopped her heart.

His eyes were wide, his mouth slightly open as he stared at her.  It was apparent that he was trembling as he stood there, face pale under the tanned skin. 

And then, a tear slipped down his cheek as he whispered, “Mom?”

Samara swore she couldn’t remember getting down the ramp, but she was suddenly in her son’s arms and was crying in huge, whooping sobs that had her shuddering in his arms.

He was weeping just as hard, and somewhere in her mind Samara realised that Ianto had been right, that Jack had long ago forgiven her for what she’d put him through. He shook against her, clutching her to him as if he was afraid she was going to leave.

“I’ll never leave you,” she choked out past her near-hysterical crying.  “Please forgive me.” She knew he had, but she needed to hear it from him.

“I do,” he hiccupped, “never leave, Mom.”

“I won’t,” she vowed. 

Of course, someday she would.  She couldn’t help it.  While Samara knew her lifespan was much longer than a lot of races out there because of her genetics, there would be a time when she would die and have to leave her dear boy behind.

But she wasn’t going to think about that now.  Now, she was going to cling to her Jack, and wasn’t going to let him go anytime soon.

Something settled in her chest.  As she stood there, holding the son she’d long thought lost, Samara knew she was where she belonged. 

She was home.

 

_fin_

 

 


End file.
